A Twist in the Ink
by FoxyEevee97
Summary: After strange events during their school field trip, Liam and five others find themselves trapped within Joey Drew Studios. Mystery, terror and danger lurk around each corner. Can they all survive the wrath of the Ink Demon, or will they fall victim to the ink?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer's note. Bendy and The Ink Machine belongs to TheMeatly Games. I thank them for an

awesome story and game and hope I do this fan fiction justice in their honor. The original characters

that belong to the game and my fan-made characters are mine. A reminder. This story will revolve

around the game and the book, so if you do not wish to be spoiled, best go to the original book and

video game before attempting to read this story. Give Bendy and his creators some love. Thank you.

The day started off like any other day. The strange inky figure watched from behind the dark curtains that obscured him from view. He took a grief glance at the small version of the ink machine in the corner. He walked over to the desk across from the machine and looked up at the billboard. On the billboard were pictures of different people. Six-children mainly with sticky notes posted next to the picture. There was one picture in the center with three familiar cartoon characters with a signature in the bottom right corner. He looked at the picture with a sense of nostalgia. But he soon disregarded it and turned to the clock on the wall.

"There's no going back now. I've come too far to back down." There was a knock on the door. He walked over to the door, ink dripping onto the already black stained carpet. He looked through the peep hole of the door before he turned the knob, stepped aside with the door to let his visitor enter. The visitor entered and the door was closed. The human wearing a flashy business suit turned to look at him. "I see time has been both cruel and kind to you."

"If I wasn't like this, I'd be dead." The man nodded and walked over to the billboard. "It's close to the day." "Indeed. They have grown." "Very quickly I might add." The ink creature walked over to the couch and sat down. "Not quickly enough." The man nodded. "True. Time runs at a different span for you than me now. The arrangements are made." "Good." Replied the ink creature. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" The man asked him. "They will be the best candidates. It took too much effort to gather them in one area. I didn't have you convince their families to move here just to get cold feet now." The man nodded.

"That's true. I can't say I'm surprised. You gave up your humanity a long time ago." "Same will be said of you… if you go through with the plan." The man smirked as he walked towards the door. "I don't care. For me, this is an opportune moment. I've made sacrifices myself and I have no regrets. This time will be no different. Bendy." The man left and closed the door. The ink creature got off the couch and walked to the billboard and looked at the cartoon picture.

"I'm not Bendy. Though my appearance is similar to his."


	2. A Typical Morning

The silence was disturbed abruptly by some loud rock music blasting out through the room. The sudden noise caused Liam to bolt up into a sitting position surprised.

He looked at his alarm clock with his iPod attached. He sighed and slammed it on silence. He groaned and rubbed the sleep out of his dark brown eyes.

He fell back down into his bed and shut his eyes. There was a knock on his door. He groaned and pulled his pillow over his head.

The door opened and his father chuckled at him. "Worn out from that competition, Liam?" Liam replied through the pillow. "I wanna die." His father laughed.

"Come on now, champ. You've got a long day of school ahead. And a field trip coming up as well." Liam groaned. "Come on. I got breakfast waiting downstairs, son."

Liam tossed the pillow to the floor and just stared at the ceiling before he shut his eyes again and moaned in defeat. He sat up and got out of his bed.

"Man. We had to go all the way to the capital just to compete in that dance challenge and we got back at three in the morning."

"Look on the bright side son. You only have to get through today and then you can sleep all day tomorrow."

Liam followed his dad slowly down the stairs to the dinning room. Liam just reached the bottom of the stairs still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes when his dad pulled

out his smart phone and then noticed the date. "Oh!" His father exclaimed. Liam was walking towards the bathroom. "What is it?" Liam mumbled.

"Never mind. School's not in. It's Saturday." Upon hearing that, Liam groaned as he collapsed to the ground. "Are you serious!?" Liam shouted. "Sorry sport. I guess

we both were too tired to shut off our alarms or even to realize you didn't have school today." "I'll just sleep on the floor." Liam muttered. His father shook his head.

"Come on now. Why don't you come and eat first then you can go back to sleep?" Hearing his stomach grumble at him, Liam sighed then sat up. "Deal." Liam got up

and quickly washed his face in the bathroom sink then walked over to the table ignoring the little water droplets that dripped from his black hair. There were pancakes

and sausage on the table. Liam and his dad took some of the pancakes and three sausages each. "Your mother texted. She said she found your performance on the

school's page." Liam looked at his dad surprised. "Really? What'd she think about it?" "She and Tess were impressed like I was. I can kinda understand why the school

gave you that little nickname." Liam turned his eyes to the coffee mug in front of his plate. He glared at it. His father's phone rang. "Oh. It's work. I'll be right back,

son." Liam nodded as his father got up and left to go outside. His dark brown eyes gazed back at the coffee sitting in the mug. "And here you are again, you deceiving

little bastard. I'm not gonna drink you." He grabbed the mug, got out of the chair and walked over to the sink and dumped it down the drain. He sighed. "I don't

understand how Dad can drink this putrid muck, Much less understand why he's anxious that I learn to like it." He put the mug in the sink. Then he grabbed a glass

and pour some orange juice in it. He returned to the table. He even glared at his father's mug of coffee but decided to ignore it and took a sip of the juice. His father

came back to the table and they both started cutting up the pancakes. "What'd they want?" Liam asked. "They wanted to know if I can come in early today. They

moved up the meeting. I can make it on time but I'll have to leave right after breakfast." Liam nodded. "What are your plans today? Aside from catching up on your

sleep?" "I'm gonna pack for the field trip. And I might work on some new moves. I've gotta up my game for the next competition." His father chuckled. "You and

dancing. Well, I'm glad to see your so passionate about something. At least it's kept you out of trouble." Liam took a couple bites of his pancakes. "You mean… out of

more trouble than what I normally get into." Liam said after he swallowed. "That is true. But then again. Boys do tend to be more mischievous. I should know. I was

like that at your age." "Yeah? What's some of the crazy stuff you did?" "Pumped slime into my math teacher's desk. She was not happy about that." Liam grimaced.

"Yeah. That sounds like she'd be livid. If your teacher was anything like mine." "Oh. Worse. In my day, if you misbehaved, they'd use a paddle for punishment." Liam

laughed. "Yeah. You did have it worse. I can only imagine what your punishment was for the slime." "You don't wanna know. Trust me." After his father and he were

done with breakfast, his father had to book it for work. Liam told him to go on ahead and he'd take care of the dishes. His father hugged him goodbye and went to the

door. "I'll bring supper home tonight. You just focus on practice and packing." "Got it, Dad." His dad left and closed the door. Liam made sure the door was locked as

his Dad went to the car. Liam grabbed the dishes and put them in the sink. Then he finished his glass of juice and also put it in the sink then made his way back

upstairs. He jumped back into his bed and fell asleep on top of the comforter.


	3. Day of the trip

Liam grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder. His dad came to the room to check on him and

tapped on the door. "Hey, Liam. Are you ready to head out?" Liam nodded. "Okay. So I have a

business trip to go to while your on the field trip. But it seems I might have to stay longer to close a

deal for the company. So when you get back, your mom's gonna pick you up and she and Tess will stay

with you while I'm away." Liam nodded. "Understood." "She said that Tess has a surprise for you when

you get back though." Liam was intrigued. "Oh really? Did she tell you what it was?" His father shook

his head but gave a small smirk. "No. Your mom doesn't tell me secrets anymore." His Dad told him.

Liam nodded. _'Figures. It's always been this way since their divorce.'_ They both got into the car and

stopped at a fast food drive-thru for breakfast. Then they headed off again. "Where is it the school's

taking you again?" "We'll be in New York City. But we're mainly going to check out the spots with

the most history. In our free time, we might get to visit Broadway. Rumors says they even have an

old studio that's haunted." "Hmm. Sounds interesting. Just don't go anywhere alone, okay? New York

is a dangerous place. And you can easily get lost there, so just be careful." "Will do." Liam replied.

"And please, whatever you do, just promise you won't go into that haunted studio. Okay? I don't

want to lose my only son now." Liam nodded. "I won't Dad. Promise." Liam stared out his window. _'It _

_makes sense he'd make me promise that. After all, his grandpa died inside one. Even though Dad isn't _

_of the superstitious sort, he is aware that there's always possible danger in places. Including haunted _

_ones. So I can understand why he'd rather I not go there. Technically, I'm the only family he has.'_

They arrived at the meeting place. The school's bus was in sight, Liam got his bag ready as his father

pulled them into the parking lot and stopped the car. They got out and his dad helped him grabbed his

stuff and carry it to the bus. He held onto a satchel with stuff to entertain him on the trip. When

that was done, Liam walked back to the car with his dad, hugged him, then he left the car and headed

over to the bus. One of the bullies sneered at Liam. "Little boy still hugs his Daddy. Is he gonna cry

for him on the trip?" Liam turned to him and gave him a cold stare. "Hey. Don't even try to pin it on

me if your Dad doesn't give you any love." Liam told him as he passed him on boarded the bus. The

bully was stunned and about to throw a punch but a boy by the name of Jack grabbed the guy's wrist.

"No fights before the trip has even started Dylan." "Your gonna let him get away with that? He just

insulted me!" "You insulted him for starters. I'd say it was a well deserved backlash." Said Jack. He

moved onto the bus steps. "You don't mess with the Dancing Devil and think you can get away with it.

He's got more guts, wits and cunning than you, me and the others put together." Jack walked onto

the bus. "That's why he's such a pain." He muttered and took a seat near the front on the left. Liam

had snagged a window seat for himself in the middle row on the left side. Two twin blonde girls boarded

on the bus and both of them moved towards the back. In another row further back on the right, one

girl was sitting alone when three other girls boarded the bus. They spotted her and marched over to

her. "Excuse me." One girl said to the girl sitting down. The brown haired girl looked at the other

girls with her brown eyes. "Is there a problem?" "Yes. Your in my seat." The girl's attitude and loud

voice caught the attention of the others on the bus. They all turned to look. The girl in the seat

shrugged. "I didn't see a name on it. Finders keepers." "Amber. You are getting on my last nerve.

Your barely hanging onto your position in our cheer squad, you do realize that if I talk to my Daddy,

you will be kicked off." The girl's eye twitched slightly as she calmly reminded the irritating girl. "It's

Ember. Not Amber, Madeline. There's a difference." "Not to me. I don't care what your name is. All

I need to know is your a nuisance." "Your the worst nuisance. You normally sit in the very back on

the bus. But today your routine is switched up. Don't tell me your over here pitching your stupid

little hissy fit just to be a brat and make me miserable." "Exactly that." "Good. Then next time.

Don't beat around the bush and just cut straight to the point. You want this stupid seat, I'll give it

to you but only if you will shut your pathetic little hole and leave me the heck alone!" Ember shouted

at the girl grabbing her bag and moved out of the way and walked up the rows. The twins looked at

each other and nodded then one got up. "There you go, Ember." Said one of the blonde girls. Ember

hesitated but the other one gestured her to sit next to her. Ember gave in. "Thanks you two." Ember

sat down with the twin while the other looked for a new seat. She stopped at Jack's seat. "Um. Is this

seat taken?" Jack looked at her and smirked. "For you babe. It's open." "Leave her alone Jack." Said

Ember. "Isa. Please not him." Said the girl's twin. "He's a flirt." Ember warned her. Liam sighed and

moved his bag from the seat beside him and shoved it under his seat. He tapped the seat in front of

him to get the girls attention. "There's a seat here that's open." The girl walked over to him and sat

beside him. "Thank you." Liam nodded. "No problem." Jack turned around to give Liam a cold stare.

"Killjoys." "Lecher." Liam muttered back. Jack whirled his head back around then just sighed and

slouched in his seat. He set his baseball cap over his eyes, crossed his arms and shut his eyes.

Another boy boarded the bus and took the opposite side of the same row Jack was in. When all the

kids were gathered and the bus was ready they took off. It was a long trip to get to their destination

. Liam basically slept most of the ride, Occasionally waking up now and then. The last time he woke

up, he found his head resting on the girl's shoulder and he sat straight up. He accidentally banged his

head against the window. "Ow." He muttered. The girl looked up from her notes to him. "I actually

didn't mind if that's what you were worried about." "Sorry. I'd at least prefer to know the name of

the person who's shoulder I used as my pillow." Liam told her.

"Isabella. But I go by Isa." She answered. "Isa. Got it. I'm-." He was stopped in mid sentence.

"Your Liam. Commonly known as the Dancing Devil." She answered returning to her notebook. "Right

. I keep forgetting how "Famous" and "Infamous" I am at school." He said as he brushed his bangs

back from his forehead. "That depends on who you ask, actually. To the bullies, your infamous. To the

regular students. Your are pretty famous." Liam smirked. She looked at him and noticed something on

his ear facing her. "Is that an ear cuff?" She asked, pointing to the black infinity band on the middle

of his ear. He pulled his black hair back. "Yeah. But it's not a piercing. It's just something I wear for

the heck of it. A small token of my little sister's." She nodded. "I can understand." She brushed her

blonde hair back so he could see her left ear. She had a silver ear cuff made into the shape of angel

wings on the top of her ear. "So as you can see, your not the only one here who wears one. So no

reason to feel ashamed." Liam gave a small laugh and smirked. "Are you able to read minds or am I

just that easy to read?" "I have a twin sister. I've learned how to read people's facial expressions for

a while. To be honest though. I was just making a little guess with you." He shrugged. "Well, you

weren't too far from the truth." "You excited about the trip?" Liam asked her. She nodded. "Yes.

And I'm hoping I'll get to see the haunted studio while we're over there." Liam looked at her

surprised. "You like haunted houses?" She nodded. "Yeah. In a way. But it'll be really cool since

Halloween is coming up." "Just promise you won't go alone now. Nor inside of the place." "Is the

Dancing Devil of the superstitious sort?" She asked in a low whisper. He shook his head. "No. But I

had a family member who did die in his workplace. They claimed that was haunted for some reason."

She nodded. "You'll have to tell me more about that sometime. Meanwhile. I think I'll take me a

nap." He shrugged. "Well, I can return the favor, since I ended up on your shoulder." She smiled and

looked at him with her blue eyes. "Your sure you won't mind?" He shook his head. "Not a bit. Your

more than welcomed to it." "Alright." She bent her head down and settled it on his right shoulder.

"Thanks a lot." She said. "Hey. I did it to you. Only fair, right?" She smiled at that. "True." He

ended up letting his head rest against hers as the ride continued. After occasionally stopping for the

night at hotels for a few days and reloading the bus. When they all loaded up again, Liam found

Isabella taking the seat beside him again for the second time this whole trip. "Hey." "Well, hello

again. How are you?" He asked. "Tired. I'm ready for the bus rides to stop." "We're supposed to be

hitting New York today." He noticed today that she wore a full harvest moon pendant and On her left

wrist was a leather bracelet with a wolf head charm. "You like wolves I take it?" She looked at him

surprised. He pointed to her bracelet. She looked at it and nodded. "Yeah. Their pretty cool. My

sister gave it to me. She has a matching set." "Is it the same with the necklace too?" Liam asked.

Isabella nodded. "Yeah but her necklace has a blue moon while mine's a harvest moon." "Is it a twin

thing you both do? Sorry. I'm just curious. You two are the only twins I've ever seen." "It is. We

used to switch places with each other when we were younger. It drove our parents nuts because one

second I'd be myself then the other I'm passing off as Pennie and vice versa. But unlike her, I can't

draw so that was always a dead giveaway in our little plot." "Ah. So your a tad mischievous?" She

smirked. "Maybe. Life would be boring if you didn't add a little spice to it. But you'd know all about

that wouldn't you?" She asked in a whisper. Liam took a quick look around before whispering. "Don't

reveal a wolf in disguise amongst the flock."

"Don't you mean Devil in disguise?" "I never really liked the term Devil that much. But I guess in

this case, I'm a little Devil guise as a wolf…"

"In sheep's clothing." They both said. "Very devious." Isabella remarked. "Gotta step up in some

areas. I'd never be an angel that's sure." "I'd prefer a wolf myself. Just talking about this is making

me think of an old cartoon." "The Adventures of Bendy and Boris?" Liam asked. She looked at him

surprised. "You know that show too?" "Yep. My Dad saved some of them on VHS. We still have them."

"Who's your favorite?" Isabella asked. "Bendy. I can relate to him. A lot." "Because you both look

for trouble?" "Not all the time. Sometimes it just finds me. What about you? Which one's your

favorite?" He asked. "Take a guess." "Going by the wolf, I'd say Boris?" "Ding ding. We have a

winner." "What do you like about Boris?" "Well, He's Bendy's friend. And he's also a bit mischievous

like the little Devil Darling." She looked at Liam with a bit of realization. "Huh. I just realized. The

Dancing Devil's favorite is the Dancing Demon." Liam chuckled. "Not the weirdest thing in my life.

What about your sister? Who's her favorite?" "It was always a toss up between Alice Angel and Boris

for her. She still enjoys Bendy a lot but those two were ones she liked a lot. Probably because she

kept comparing them to our own parents when we were younger. Not to mention she used to insist that

our parents where the real life counterparts to those toons mainly because of our last name." Liam

looked at her surprised. "Really? Why is that?" "Connor. That's our last name. And it seems to mean

Wolf Lover." Liam laughed. "It makes sense."

"Yeah. But it was funny nonetheless. Man. It's been a long time since she and I got to see those. I

wish they had more adventures to watch." said Isabella. "Me too. But it was a time when technology

was limited in the animation field. Plus that took place around the time as the last World War. It was

still a shame that the studio went out of business." She nodded.

They both eventually drifted off to sleep again only to wake up when the bus came to a halt. Liam

slowly blinked his eyes as brought his head up from the window. Isabella was using his shoulder as a

head rest again. "Where are we now?" He asked. Jack looked over at him. "We finally reached New

York City." Sure enough, the loud bustling of the city could be heard as they were caught in traffic.

Once the rows of cars were moving again, the bus continued driving around the city. All the kids were

awake and looking outside the glass at the tall skyscrapers that loomed over them. After they drove

around the city, the bus took them to the hotel they were staying at and the kids all got off the bus.

"Thanks for sitting with me." Liam told Isabella. "It made the ride interesting." She smiled. "Your

welcome. I enjoyed your company. Never knew the Dancing Devil could be so interesting." Liam

shrugged. "Eh. Depends on who you ask."

They grabbed their stuff and headed to the hotel. Isabella turned to Liam. "Don't be a stranger now."

She told him as she went to her sister and Ember's side. "Same to you. Catch ya later." Liam replied

as he grabbed his bag. When the teacher had them all rounded up, he was trying to sort out who

would be roommates. Isabella and her sister agreed to be roommates with Ember. The teacher was

about to stick Liam with Dylan but Liam went up to the teacher. "Sir. Sorry, but is there someone

else I can room with? Dylan and I don't really get along." Dylan seemed annoyed as Liam was

mentioning that to the teacher. The teacher looked around. "I suppose. Is there anyone else who-?"

A boy with blue eyes and shoulder length black ponytail walked up. Liam noticed he wore a Star of

David symbol around his neck. "Sir. I'd be happy to switch. Besides. I think Dylan would rather be

with his friend anyway." "Very well, thank you, Dewayne. Liam, have you met Dewayne before?" Liam

nodded. "Yeah. Your in the music class and theater. You play the piano, right?" "That is correct, but

I play a variety of instruments. I've work in the community theater like you do. But we've never been

in the same project so that's why we never officially met." "Cool. What else do you play aside from

the piano?" "Guitar, drums, flute and violin." "I think I had to fill in for you once for the guitar in a

performance, Right? Dewayne Anderson?" "Yeah. So that was you then? Awesome. Thanks for that,

man." "No problem." Liam smiled as they shook hands. "Splendid. It sounds like you two will get along

fine." Liam and Dewayne were given a room and a set of keys. Liam noted Dylan's scowl as they all

departed and went to the floor with their assigned rooms. When it was just Liam and Dewayne on the

elevator, Liam turned to him. "Sorry. I think I might have put a target on your back unintentionally.

A good bit of people in the school hate me." Dewayne shrugged. "That's alright. It's nothing new.

Except, if they try to do anything to me, I can dish it back tenfold at them." Said Dewayne. Liam

nodded. "Nice. I noticed your Star of David. So I can assume if by chance, you got into a fight,

you'd most likely win?" Dewayne laughed. "Yeah. Actually. I do take self defense classes. My

guardian taught me. But you don't have to worry. I enjoy my bacon like everyone else. My mom was

Jewish. Really this star was hers but it's all I have left of her now." "Oh. Sorry about that." "Your

fine. Most people when they see my star, they freak out because of the religion status. You didn't so,

it's refreshing. Also, it's interesting that the first thing you ask me is if I'd win a fight." Liam

smirked. "I just like to check on that." The elevator opened and they exited it. Liam looked behind

them to make sure no one else was around or eavesdropping on them. "I kinda have my personal list of

students who can and cannot hold their own in a fight." "Ah." Dewayne looked around too. "So it is

you who does all those pranks of revenge on the bullies. They all suspect it's you, but they can never

prove it." When they found their room, Dewayne used his key to unlock it. They went inside and shut

the door. "That's why they hate me. Because I give them a taste of their own medicine, except it's

in my own unique way." Liam picked his bed closer to the air conditioner and Dewayne took the one

closer to the door. "Well, you don't have to worry about me. As a musician, and the head of the

school's band. They don't dare touch me. And if they do, then they are stupid." Dewayne told him.

Liam nodded. "There's a lot of them around. Dylan's the number one on the list since Carter got

expelled." "Yeah. I heard about that one. He beat up some students in middle school?" Dewayne

asked. "Yeah. I was one of his victims. One day, I saw him picking on another kid. He was going too

far, so I decided that's enough of it. Then I went up and got him to change targets. I riled him up

so bad, that when the teachers came, he was kicked out of the school completely." Dewayne was

surprised. "Wow. So you were the one he was beating when he got expelled?" "Yeah. The kid I saved,

ran and told the principal that they beat him and were beating me. He even led them to us. Just in

time too. Cause if he kept on going while I was passed out, who knows if any of his friends could have

stopped him. I know back then, when it was happening, Jack did try to get him to stop." "Jack

Drew?" Dewayne asked surprised. "Yeah. Jack's never really liked me that much and even though he

hung out with the bullies, There was only one time he did lay a hand on me or join in the dirty work.

But he did try to stop Carter when it got too out of hand." Said Liam as he unloaded his bag and put

some of his clothes in the drawer. Dewayne was doing the same thing. "Strangely enough. He's been

separating himself more and more from the popular kids as of late. I guess he's getting sick of them."

"Maybe. We'll see how long it lasts." Said Liam. They put their bags next to their beds then went

down to meet with the others in the main lobby so they could go get food then rode the bus to visit

the Museum of Natural History.

When kids were done with their first museum tour and were allowed to go to other places as long as

they were in a group and with a teacher. Liam wanted to see the sights so he got ready to go down.

They returned to their rooms to put up their notebooks. Dewayne looked at Liam as he was getting

ready to go back down. "You seem really excited." "Well, Yeah. It's a different city with its own

talent of street dancers." Dewayne shook his head but smiled. "Your already looking out for new

competition in the dance world huh?" "Ya never know. Sometimes you can find the people with the

most awesome talent in the weirdest and strangest places." Said Liam. Dewayne nodded. "You've got a

point there. And this is New York. There's probably no shortage of them here." "What about you?

Are you coming?" "Well. I was gonna work on some more of my music but I could use a break."

Dewayne put down his notebook and grabbed a jacket. Liam grabbed his leather jacket and put it on.

They both went downstairs. They saw the twins and Ember down there already with Jack trying to flirt

at the three. "It seems it's just you three and only one of me. Talk about lucky right?" Jack asked.

"I'd say that's more like a stroke of bad luck." Said Isabella, her sister stood behind her. Jack looked

at Ember. "What about you, Amber?" She groaned in frustration at him. Dewayne and Liam walked to

them. "Maybe try saying her name right, then you might get somewhere." Said Dewayne. Jack did not

seem too thrilled to see Liam. "Well. At least we have a couple of decent boys with us." Said

Isabella. Dewayne smirked at Jack then turned to the girls. "Your more than welcome to stick close to

me or Liam if that will make you more comfortable." "It's better than having to be wary of that guy."

Said Ember as she walked over to Dewayne and Liam. Dewayne extended his arm. "Shall we?" She

sighed then put one arm in Dewayne's then wormed the other in Liam's. "I feel more secure now."

Isabella's twin went to Liam's other arm. Isabella laughed to herself. Dewayne turned to her. "And

what about you?" "I'm fine with walking on my own. Besides if Jack should even try to lay a finger on

me… I have my own methods of protection." Jack looked at her shocked. "I am not that

underhanded, alright? I have more self respect and more respect for girls than you let on." Jack

retorted. Liam nodded. "For once, I can agree on that." Jack glared at him. "No one asked you,

Devil." "Isa. Please?" her sister asked her. Dewayne offered his hand. Isabella sighed then took it and

looped her arm in his. "Fine." "There then. We better head to the lobby." Said Dewayne. And the

five of them walked in stride. Jack trailed behind them. "You five look like your trying to remake the

wizard of Oz." "Heck no. That movie better be left untouched." Said Isabella. Liam looked at

Isabella's twin, who's hair was a darker blonde with some brown in comparison to her sister's. He saw

the leather bracelet and wolf charm that matched her sister's, as well as the blue full moon pendant.

But unlike her sister, she wore plain earrings instead of an ear cuff. Yet the earrings were angel wings

like her sister's ear cuff. Also their clothing was different. While Isabella sported jeans with some

holes in them, her sister wore shorts with black leggings. The designs and colors they wore gave Liam

the impression that Isabella was more like a tomboy while her sister was closer to a girly girl. "I don't

believe I caught your name." "Oh. I'm Penelope. But my sister calls me Pennie." "Isabella and

Penelope. That's an interesting twin combination." Said Liam. "Dad thought so when he named us."

"Your both lucky. I was named by my mom." Said Liam. Dewayne and the others looked at Liam

intrigued. "She named you Liam? But that's an awesome name." Pennie said. "No. Liam is more of a

nickname that my dad calls me. And it's one that I prefer." Liam replied. She nodded. They reached

the lobby where the teacher was waiting for them with some of the other kids. Some of them were the

bullies and others were regular normal kids. They all went out to the movies and everyone picked out a

movie they wanted to watch. The bullies seemed upset that Liam went to the seats all the way in the

back, which meant they couldn't throw any food or drinks at him without getting caught by the

teacher. Dylan muttered to his posse. "Damn. Even out of school, he outsmarts us." Jack heard Dylan

as they were moving to sit beside him. Jack immediately got up and walked to a different section of

the theater. Dylan looked at him. "Hey! Jack? What's up man?" Jack just sat down away from them

and adjusted his hat. Ember, Isabella, Penelope and Dewayne went up to the back where Liam was.

"Mind if we join you?" Dewayne asked. Liam gestured to the seats. "Your welcome to them." They all

picked their seats. Penelope noted Jack's lonesome self in the corner. "Maybe… we've been a little

hard on him." She suggested. Ember shook her head. "I don't know. It is odd he's been avoiding the

others like the plague, but still." Penelope got up and walked down to Jack. "Hey." He looked up and

jumped to his feet surprised. "H-hey." "We have an extra seat back there. Your welcome to join us."

Jack nodded. "Uh. Sure. Yeah. That'd be great." They both walked up. Liam saw him coming. "Oh

man." He muttered. Dewayne saw this. "Would you like me to switch seats with you?" Dewayne asked.

"You sure about that?" Liam asked. "You both can't exactly fight with a solid wall between you." Liam

nodded. "Sure." He and Dewayne switched seats so Liam was sitting between Ember and Dewayne. Jack

sat next to Penelope and Dewayne, thanking whatever deity had blessed him to get Dewayne and Liam

to switch seats. Isabella was sitting on the other side of her sister. It was then the commercials began

and everybody went silent. Partway during the movie Liam went to get a refill and offered to get more

popcorn for the others. Ember handed him the carton and he left. Penelope nudged her sister to go

with him. She sighed and followed him to the front counter. "Isa. What are you doing?" "Came to

help out." She said holding up another popcorn container. "You could have given it to me." He told

her. She smirked. "You wouldn't be able to carry your drink and two large popcorn containers." He

shrugged. "Touché." They were just about to return to the theater room when the fire alarm went off.

They both looked up as everyone was starting to panic. The closest movie attendant gestured them to

the closest exit. Liam and Isabella both glanced at the theater room and then headed to the exit as

some people were starting to head out. They went to the parking lot towards the bus and waited

there. "Man. And we got refills for nothing." Said Isabella. "You love your popcorn don't you?" Liam

asked before he took a sip of his drink. "Absolutely. My sister can tell you. I will never have fun at

the movies or an amusement park unless I've had my popcorn." Liam turned to look at her. "Just

movie popcorn in general?" "Hmm. To be honest. I prefer cracker jacks." She corrected him. "Oh. The

caramel and nuts with popcorn. Not a bad choice." Isabella looked around. "Where is everybody?"

Liam looked around. "Yeah. We heard the fire alarm. You'd think everyone in the school group would

be coming to the bus." Liam turned back to the movie theater. "And… why is the parking lot itself

completely empty?" Isabella noted. Liam moved towards the other side of the bus and jumped when he

found another figure there. "Whoa!" He breathed a sigh of relief. Isabella quickly ran to him. She

sighed when she saw who else was there. "Jack. It's just you?" Jack turned around. "I guess. I was

just coming out of the bathroom when the alarm rang." "We were getting refills when we were forced

to head to the exit door. Strangely enough no one else is over here." Liam told him. Jack looked at

them both confused. "That is strange." They all were disturbed by a sound nearby. "What was that?"

Jack asked. "You don't know?" Liam questioned him. "It might be someone else coming." Isabella

suggested. All three looked in the direction of the noise. "Hello?" Liam called out. There was nothing

in reply. After a few moments of silence Jack looked at them both. "Maybe it was just our

imagination." Jack suggested. Liam stepped closer to the direction where they heard the sound. He

did not see anything and took a couple more steps. On the second footstep, he heard a squish sound

under his foot. He stopped and lifted up his right foot to see black stuff on the pavement. "What

the-?" The other two came over. "What is it?" Jack inquired. Liam showed his foot to them. "I

stepped in a puddle of something." Isabella looked at it. She sniffed the air. "It smells like… ink."

Both boys looked at her surprised. "Ink? Not oil?" Jack asked. She shook her head. "It's not oil. I

would have recognized it right off. I help my uncle with mechanics and maintenance for our vehicles

and machines. This… is ink. Pennie uses this for her art work." Jack looked at Liam. "You're girl's

weird." Liam was stunned. "What?" Isabella grimaced at Jack. "Excuse me?" "Ignore him, Isa. He has

no idea what he's saying." Liam told her as he started to wipe his foot against the pavement. "Come

on. Everyone saw you both on the bus. Using each other's shoulders." "Your saying friends can lean on

each other, Jack?" Liam asked annoyed. Isabella crossed her arms. "Well, he wouldn't know. He

usually hangs with the bullies and their not very loyal, even to each other. So really, he has no

friends." Jack was about to counter to Isabella when he saw something move behind Liam. The ink

puddle moved and grew taller than Liam. Jack took a step back. "G-guys. T-that puddle!" Liam raised

an eyebrow before he turned around. "What about the puddle?" Liam's face fell when he saw the ink

rising and dripping. He dropped his drink and popcorn to grab Isabella's arm and moved out of the way

as it tried to jump at them, the two cartons of popcorn and the slushie drink dropped on the ground.

They stood in front of Jack and faced it. "What? Ink isn't supposed to do that!" Isabella shouted.

"Make a run for it!" Liam shouted as they turned to run back towards the movie theater. The ink

moved again and formed a hand that reached out and grabbed Liam's ankle causing him to fall on the

pavement. Two black figures appeared from behind a couple vehicles and one caught Isabella as she ran

into him. Jack saw the one that stood in his path and tried to punch him. His hand went straight

through the figure's face, leaving a black residue on Jack's hand and sleeve. Jack was stunned that

what he hit did not feel a person at all. Liam tried to free his leg from the ink and even tried to kick

it. It just caught hold of his other leg and both were trapped in it's strong grip. "What is

happening?" He cried out. Isabella shouted as she tried to elbow and kick her captor. "Help! Someone

help us!" Jack returned to his senses and was about to run help her but he was tackled by the

creature he had punched. As they both went down the creature stretched out it's dark hand and it's

limb extended, reaching over to Isabella and covering her nose and mouth. She grew more panicked as

she tried to scream and yank the hand off. It was futile as it did not budge and she was losing air.

"Isa!" Liam shouted as he tried to crawl away from the ink's grip. Jack punched the creature on top

of him and used his arms to break the limb that reached over to Isabella's mouth. Though the arm

retracted, it appeared the hand stayed on Isabella, still cutting off her oxygen. She went limp as the

creature holding her carried her away. The creature on Jack used it's hands to cover Jack's nose and

mouth and did the same to him. Despite his attempts to fight the thing off or to remove the dark stuff

on his face, he did not make much progress. Liam shouted out. "Can anyone hear me?" In the corner

of his eye, the ink extended and looked to see it was surrounding him on both sides. He turned his

gaze up to find it was covering over him like a canopy. He tried to pull his legs out one more time but

he was yanked back and the ink wrapped around him like a cocoon. Liam's cries were muffled as he

could taste the ink in his mouth, suffocating him and stinging his eyes. He did not know when he

passed out as the ink itself was dark from the inside. He only remembered the last sliver of the street

light fading from view.


	4. Missing Teenagers and Haunted Hotels

Penelope and Ember each held onto Dewayne's arms as they all got up to exit the room through the fire escape. They all followed the teacher who led them around the

building and they stopped as the fire trucks came. The teacher looked around. "Is everybody here?" He called each person's names while Dewayne led the girls to the

front. When Penelope reached him, she told him. "Liam and Isabella went to get refills on the popcorn." Ember cut in. "And Jack left for the bathroom."

The teacher nodded. "Hopefully, they'll be waiting at the bus. If not, I'll let the firemen know." The bus driver went on ahead to the bus.

Soon he drove the bus over to them and they all climbed aboard. The teacher leaned over to him. "Did you see three teens waiting beside it? Two boys and a girl?"

The bus driver shook his head. The teacher looked at his students. "No one leave this bus. Stay with your partners." Dewayne, Ember and Penelope had squeezed in

the very back as the other seats were filled up before them. "I don't see my sister." Penelope told them. Ember shook her head.

"I don't see Liam or Jack either. What could have happened to them?" Dewayne shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe they were forced to exit out on the far side and

it's taking them a bit longer to escape the crowd?" "I hope so." After what felt like hours, the teacher finally came on board. "Any luck?" The Bus driver asked.

The teacher shook his head. "No sign of them. I talked with the firemen and the police. I made sure they had pictures of the missing students.

But They're gonna question us. They've already checked the crowds of people that are still around. But… no one else has seen them." He turned towards the students.

They were all talking with excitement and worry. He whistled to get their attention. "The fire has been put out now. But it seems we have a situation on our hands.

Miss Penelope Conner?" She slowly stood up. He gestured her to come over. "Come here please." She passed Dewayne and Ember and walked up to him.

"I'm terribly sorry, but the police need you to give them a description of your sister." She gasped and looked the her friends shocked then back at him.

"What happened?" "I looked. The police have looked. But… it seems that your sister and the other two… are nowhere to be found. They need you to tell them what

your sister looks like so they can file a missing person's report." She nodded. "Dewayne. I need you too." Dewayne stood up. "What is it, sir?"

"I need you and Miss Conner to talk to the New York police. And you might as well too, Miss Brown. You are Isabella and Penelope's roommate after all."

"What's this about?" She asked. "It's about Liam, Isabella and Jack…" He hesitated for a brief moment before telling them. "They're all missing."

Many gasps escaped from the other students. Dewayne held his hand out for Ember. She accepted it and he helped her up out of the seat.

They both made their way up to the front. The teacher looked at everyone else. "No one leaves this bus. Mr. Owen will be in charge of you all until I get back.

Come on you three." He led the three of them to the police. Each of them sat down and told the police what their friends looked like, and what happened when

they saw them last. They left their contact information before returning to the bus with the teacher. Ember tried to console Penelope as she was worried about her

sister. Dewayne was deep in thought, wondering what had happened to them. They all returned to their hotel and everyone when to their rooms.

Dewayne was moved to share with Dylan since Jack and Liam were missing. Dewayne lay in his bed fully awake. But he couldn't sleep.

He went over every possible explanation he could think of for what might have befell the others.

He lay there for hours deep in thought when he heard a knock on his door. He got up and went over to it. He looked through the peephole and saw it was Ember.

He opened it. "Ember? What's wrong?" "It's Pennie. She's gone." Dewayne quietly looked in his room to check if Dylan was still sleeping. He looked back at her.

"What do you mean?" "She's gone. I went in the shower and I came back, she was nowhere to be found. No note. Nothing." "Did you tell the teacher?"

"I went to their room and knocked on the door but they didn't answer. I even went down to the person at the desk, and she said the teacher and bus driver left a

couple hours ago." "That is strange. They wouldn't normally leave their students especially with three of them missing already."

"Dewayne. I'm scared." "Let me get my shoes on." "I don't want to be alone right now." She said. He opened the door and she went in.

He grabbed a pair of jeans and his shoes and went to the bathroom to change. In a few moments he was out.

"Alright. Let's go downstairs and talk to the desk person. See if she can call the police. The teacher has all our phones so she's the only option."

Ember nodded. Dewayne tapped Dylan's shoulder. Dylan woke up. "What is it, Jew?" Dewayne grimaced. "Amusing. We have a problem.

The teacher is gone and Penelope's missing now. You might want to run to your buddies while she and I go inform the desk person and call the police."

Dylan woke up and sat up in his bed. "Are you two joking?" Dewayne and Ember looked at him seriously. "Not one bit. Something's wrong here. And I bet it's got

something to do with Jack, Liam and Isabella's disappearance." Said Dewayne. He pulled out the room key and handed it to Dylan.

"Just in case. If I'm not back for that, you'll know something's happened." Dylan nodded. Dewayne and Ember went to the elevator and Dewayne pressed the button

for the lobby. When they reached the lobby, they ran to the desk. They halted to a stop. The desk was completely empty.

"She was right there! A few minutes ago." Ember exclaimed. Dewayne looked around. "Maybe she'll be right back." Said Dewayne.

Ember looked at Dewayne. "Remember how the teacher told us to hand over our phones?" Dewayne nodded. "I didn't hand him mine. It's in my luggage right now.

I just remembered it." "Let's go grab it then." They both ran to her room which was on the first floor so it was not far. She opened her case and pulled it out.

"Out of curiosity, why didn't you hand him your phone?" "My dad. He insists on keeping in touch with me. But I don't use this phone much except for texting him.

And he's usually busy anyway." She pressed the power button trying to turn it on. "Darn it. It's always very slow when it turns on."

"Let's head back to the desk. Maybe the lady's back." They both left the room and went over to the desk. It was still empty as were the hallways.

Dewayne looked around. "Any luck with your cell, Ember?" She checked it. "It's still not on. I know I charged it to full battery." Dewayne looked over the desk.

"I'll go on and use the desk phone." He jumped over the counter and was behind the desk. He walked over to the phone. He picked up the receiver and dialed nine.

One. One. He held it up to his ear and listened. He could hear a person's voice on the other end for a brief moment, then he heard a click which was soon followed by

silence. "Well?" Ember asked. He looked over at Ember. "It's dead now." She shivered slightly and looked at her phone. "Okay. It doesn't usually take this

long." Dewayne looked at the door. He saw a person through the glass. He pointed to it. "Ember, is that-?" She looked. The figure was around Ember's height and was

petite. Her back facing them. Her dark blondish brown hair was distinguishable against the dark night. "Pennie?" She asked.

The figure moved away from the glass and disappeared around the corner. Ember ran through the door and Dewayne jumped the counter again, following her.

"Ember don't stray from me too far now." He warned her. They ran outside in the direction they saw Penelope go. "Pennie?" Ember called out. They didn't get a

response. They saw her silhouette vanish in the bushes. "She's heading towards the park." Dewayne realized. "I don't like this, Dewayne."

"I don't either. Stay near me." She quickly grabbed hold of his shirt and stuffed her phone in hers as they continued moving towards the park.

They went though the bushes and saw Penelope sitting on a park bench, under a streetlight facing them. They walked up to her. Dewayne shook her shoulder.

"Pennie?" She fell forward in his arms. Ember about screamed but covered her mouth. He looked at her then examined Penelope.

"She's alive. Just unconscious." Ember sat down. "But she walked over here." "We never saw her walking. We only caught glimpses of where she was going."

Dewayne said. "Someone lured us out here? But why?" Ember heard something and looked over her shoulder. "D-Dewayne!"

He looked up from Penelope and saw what Ember was freaking out about. They were surrounded by a bunch of black puddles, corralling them in a circle.

Dewayne gently set Penelope down and took a fighting stance. "What is this stuff?" Ember wondered. "I'm not sure. Oil maybe?" "Oil in a park?"

Suddenly the puddles sprang to life. Ember screamed in fear as they seemed to take on the form of humans but without the lower part of the body.

They crawled towards them using their hands and elbows. Dewayne kicked one that came at him. Ember jumped back and kept an eye on the ones behind her.

Dewayne passed her and punched another one. One of the creatures tried to grab Ember but she jumped back and kick it. "Back off, slim!" She saw one

dragging Penelope away. "Dewayne! Pennie!" Dewayne ran towards Penelope but was tripped by one of the creatures and fell to the ground.

He was immediately swarmed by them, his limbs seized in the grip. Ember screamed as loudly as she could as she was being overwhelmed by them herself.

She tried swinging her arms and kicking them. They eventually grabbed hold of her limbs as the all blocked out the light. "Ember!" Dewayne yelled just as the black

stuff got into his mouth. He tried to spit it out but more just flooded in until blackness was all he saw.


	5. Misfortune Calls and Opportunity Knocks

Liam opened his eyes and waited for them to adjust to the darkness. He tried to move but his hands were stuck behind his back.

He tested his legs but they were stuck together. Once his eyes adjusted with the darkness he could see with the dim sliver of light that he had some silver tape around

his legs. He heard moaning nearby and looked. He saw five other people. He tried to speak to them but he felt something sticky on his mouth prevented him from

talking. He groaned. He struggled with the thing that had his hands tied behind him but made no progress. His wrists hurt from rubbing against the thing that was

holding them in place. He tried to trace it with his fingers. It was hard, thin and plastic from what he could tell. He heard the figure beside him moan. He tried crawling

over to him and nudged him awake with his knees. From what he could see, it appeared to be Dewayne, his roommate. Liam tried to remember what happened. But

what he could remember did not seem real. It had to have been some crazy nightmare or an illusion brought on by some kind of side effect from gas. At least that was

the conclusion he gave to himself in his head. He glanced around at who else was with them. He found Isabella, Jack, Penelope, and Ember. All of them had tape on

their mouths, as well as their hands and legs tied too. Liam returned to shaking Dewayne awake. It took him a bit but Dewayne finally opened his eyes. They probably

needed to adjust as Liam's eyes did when he woke up. When Dewayne recognized him he tried to speak but Liam could not understand for the tape. Dewayne glanced

around and saw their predicament. They both could only wait and attempt to weaken their bonds as the others all woke up. Though, Penelope seemed to have the

worse time accepting the news of their kidnapping. She was breathing very hard though her gag, and Isabella seemed very concerned about her. Isabella nudged her

sister with her head. Penelope managed to turn her focus to her. Isabella turned on her side, with her back against her sister. She tried to say something. Penelope

looked then turned herself around so her back faced her sisters. She scooted down to her sister's boots which stopped at the calf. She was reaching for something

inside her sister's boot. She slowly pulled out a pocket knife, then crawled back up to the same level as her sister. While Penelope held the pocket knife, Isabella was

feeling for it and her fingers nimbly eased the blade out. Then she carefully took the knife from her sister, flipped over onto her stomach then rolled onto her other

side. The blade sticking out away from her hand. Jack rolled over to her and brought his hands up close enough for her to cut the zip tie on his wrists. She carefully

tried to not cut him, though she did nick him as she attempted to cut his bonds. When they heard the snap, Jack brought his arms and wrists in front of him and

yanked the strip of tape off his mouth. "Give me a second. I'll have you all freed." He took the knife from Isabella and cut her bonds, then Penelope's. Isabella carefully

removed the tape of her sister's mouth as well as her own. Jack quickly cut Liam's and Dewayne's then made his way to Ember. When they were all freed, Jack closed

Isabella's knife and returned it to her. "Thanks. We would have been stuck if it wasn't for you." She accepted it from him. "I'm just glad our kidnappers didn't think to

search us." "Let's not celebrate anything yet." Said Liam as he sat up. "Don't you hear that?" They all grew quiet and listened. They're surroundings were rectangular

and bumpy. They could also hear the sound of an engine roaring and the sound of tires hitting some potholes. "We're all in the back of a truck." Said Isabella. "How'd

we all get here though?" Pennie asked. "I don't know. I remember something black, cold and slimy covering my nose and mouth and I suffocated." Jack said. Liam

looked at him. "So it wasn't a dream then." Isabella shook her head. "Nope. I can still smell that ink. It's so strong, I keep thinking it's right under my nose." She

replied. Dewayne looked at them. "Those things got you too?" Ember sat up. "I think they got all of us." Pennie looked at them all confused.

"What did? All I remember was somebody grabbing me and holding a cloth over my face." "That's usually how you'd expect a normal kidnapping to go." Said Dewayne.

"But Ember told me you were missing and we couldn't find a teacher, so we went to tell the hotel desk manager but found no one. The phone was cut off when I tried

to call someone then Ember and I saw you through the front door so we ran after you. We found you unconscious, sitting on a park bench. Then we were attacked by

creatures. I'm not sure what they were. They resembled humans… but-." "-If they were made from ink?" Isabella asked. He nodded. "If that's the case. Then now is

our best chance to escape, while they think we're unconscious and still tied up." Said Liam as he got up and steadied against the wall and walked to the end of the

truck. "Now? How? We're locked in the back of a freaking moving truck?" Ember asked. "It has to be now. Those things captured us so easily and we don't know how

to defend ourselves from them. If we don't get out now, then there's the chance we won't get to run again." said Liam. Isabella held up her knife. "Luckily, I have this."

She got up and walked over to the doors were Liam stood. "Yeah. Liam does bring up a good point. We can't fight these things." Said Dewayne. "My question is what

do they want with us anyway?" Jack asked. "Because usually when high schoolers like us or people in general go missing. It usually points to sex trafficking. But I don't

know if that's what this is about." "Why do you say that?" Penelope asked him. "Well, for one. The ones who usually do that kind of kidnapping are humans. But a

bunch of nightmarish inky monsters? I have no idea what they want us for." Ember pointed out. Isabella pulled out her knife. "Okay. I can break the lock. But when I

do, the doors will probably swing open." "And? What's stopping you from doing that?" Jack asked. "If we open them too suddenly, they might stop the truck and

recapture us before we can even run." She pointed out that fine little detail. "Then they'll either tie us up again and maybe even guard us so we can't escape." Ember

throw out one possibility. "Exactly. So I need two boys to hold the doors so they don't swing open all at once and alert them." "Careful. There is the chance that if the

doors open suddenly, you guys might fall off and injure yourselves." Dewayne gave a warning. "We can't just rush through that, if we want to escape." Liam looked at

Dewayne. "The problem is, we're in a moving vehicle. And we're on a road, there may be other cars directly behind them and that fall could kill us." Liam reminded

them. Jack cracked his knuckles. "Then We'll have to make sure we don't fall. Just grip the door as hard as you can, and if you slip, don't let go." Jack said as he came

up to one door. Liam grabbed hold of his door, while Jack grabbed the other. "Brace yourselves." Isabella told them as she stuck the knife in the small pace between

the doors and broke the lock. Liam and Jack held onto the doors tightly, fighting the rushing winds that were trying to rip the doors out of their grasps. The others

came up behind them. Isabella turned to Jack. "Try to open it slightly." He did as she directed. She looked through the crack. "Well. Good news and bad news."

"What is that?" Liam asked. "Well, the good news is. There's no cars in sight so we don't have to worry about getting trampled. Bad news is; That means we can't

exactly get help. But we seem to be on a dirt road and trucks leave a big thick cloud of dust behind. So when we jump, that'll give us some cover. And there's trees on

either side. Once we jump, make a run for the woods. Because when they discover we're gone, we're gonna need all the hiding places we can get." She looked at the

top of the door, Liam was holding. She looked around the floor, quickly pulled a pin up and stuck it in the hole of the door. "You can let go of that now, Liam.

That door won't swing open for a while." Liam let go and the door stayed in place. "What are the chances we'll survive the jump?" Ember asked.

"Oh. You'll survive. He's not going at a super dangerous speed. But don't expect to come out unscathed. Concrete or gravel. Your gonna have some cuts and bruises

most likely." Isabella answered her. "Someone get going! My arms are getting tired and stiff here!" Said Jack. "Your a baseball champ, Jack. How are you getting tired

this quickly?" Ember asked. "You try holding this door without it ripping you off the truck." Jack told her. "I'll go first." Said Dewayne. "But try not to take too long in

following. I'll be heading for the right side of the road. See you in the woods." He said. Jack would have slipped off the truck if Liam did not grab him. Together they

slowly opened the door. Dewayne made his leap into the dust. Liam grabbed the door since he could see Jack was getting tired. "I'll hold it for you." Jack let go.

"Okay." Then Jack jumped. Ember went after him. Isabella nodded to Penelope then got off. Her sister went after her. Liam moved to the edge of the truck, stood on

the outside. Moved in front of the shut door, the closed the one he had been holding. He saw the lock was only half broken, so he twisted the small metal knob to hold

the door in place. Then he looked at the ground that was flying by underneath him. He gathered his courage and leaped off the truck onto the ground.

He groaned as he scraped his knees and both hands in the fall. He tried to brush off the pain and the bleeding as he stood up. He noted his jeans gained new holes as

he ran through the thick cloud of dust to the woods. He could see Penelope and Isabella so he ran over to them. They were in about the same shape as him.

They saw Jack and Ember coming towards them. Dewayne was also running to catch up. "Okay. Does anyone have an idea where we need to go?"

Ember pulled her phone out of her shirt. "Okay. It turned on sometime after we were knocked out but I still have enough battery. I can use my G. P. S. tracker to guide

us to the nearest city." She did and she got their location. "Wow. Guys. We're still near where we were at. It's just fifty miles back up the road."

"Talk about lucky. But fifty miles?" Penelope asked. "That'll take twenty hours just to get back up there. Rest included." Dewayne pointed out.

"It looks like it'll be getting dark in a few hours. We better get started." Jack said. They started marching. Liam was behind Jack, Dewayne and Ember.

He could hear Penelope whispering to Isabella. "But Isa. What about my-? I mean… I don't want to slow anyone down." Isabella looked at her sister.

"If you get tired, I'll carry you. We need to make every moment count." She whispered to her. Isabella noticed the others were sticking close to the road.

"Guys. I think we should go further into the woods. Out of sight from the road." Isabella suggested. Ember turned to them. "But shouldn't we stay to the road so we

can get someone to give us a ride?" Ember asked. "But we do run the risk of the kidnappers finding us if we stay on this road." Dewayne brought up. "It probably

won't take them too long to check on us and realize we're gone." Liam nodded. "I think the woods are safer." "I'm inclined to agree. Hang on. Ember. What about your

phone? Couldn't you call for help?" said Jack as he turned toward Ember. "I checked it. There's no service out here. I couldn't reach anyone period." "We're stuck

walking." said Isabella as she and Penelope started heading towards the woods. They covered a long distance when Penelope fell to the ground. Liam and Isabella saw

it and helped her up. The others continued walking. Penelope was taking deep gasps and had some difficulty standing up. "What's wrong?" Liam asked. "She has

asthma." Said Isabella. "What?" Liam was surprised. "I'll be fine." said Penelope as she reached in her pocket and pulled out her inhaler. She used it then put it back.

"I just need a break." Isabella turned around and knelt down. "Get on." said Isabella. Penelope shook her head. "Come on, Pennie. We don't have time."

Isabella tried to reason with her. She nodded. "I can carry her." Liam offered. Isabella shook her head. "Thank you but, She's my responsibility." Penelope laughed.

"You make it sound like your the first born." Liam looked between them both confused. Isabella grabbed Penelope's arm and pulled it over her shoulder.

Penelope did not bother fighting and jumped onto her sister's back. Her sister started walking, giving Penelope a piggyback ride. Liam just followed them as they tried

to catch up with the others. The sun was getting low and the air grew chilly. They all sat down to take a breather. "Should we try to sleep out here for the night?"

Penelope asked. "I don't think we should. Who knows if those things will be coming into the woods. The worst thing that would happen is they found us while we were

all asleep and we woke up to be recaptured. Who knows where we'll be then." Ember replied. "We just have to keep traveling in the direction we've been going and

we'll find the city. And hopefully someone who can help us get back to the motel." Said Liam. "Man. Our families have got to be freaking out." Said Isabella.

"I can already say this. After tonight, Dad will never let me out of his sight again." Said Ember. "Over protective?" Jack asked. "Not exactly. I wouldn't be completely

complaining. I don't see him much. The last time he and I ever had a decent time was Halloween… five years ago." Jack scoffed. "At least your father gave you some

attention. My father was always more proud of my brother." Penelope looked at him. "You have a brother?" Jack did not answer. Instead he stood up and started

walking again. Dewayne got up as well. "We should keep moving." They all followed suit and went after Jack. The sun was completely gone now and the moon was

rising up through the sky, it's full glory shining down onto the woods, giving them light enough to see. They kept going well into the night, mostly walking, sometimes

running. Other times they crashed into bushes and occasionally fall or trip into the briar patch. Jack did that when he was in the lead and he got tangled up in them.

Liam and Ember had to help free him. When they did, they asked him if he was okay. "Yeah. I'll live." He said. They all heard a twig snap.

Dewayne looked in the direction. He saw a strange head with horns with the moon behind it. "Get down!" He whispered harshly as he hit the dirt.

The others followed his example. They quietly waited and watched. When the figure seemed to melt into the bushes. Isabella quietly gestured the others to follow her.

She and Penelope quietly crawled along the forest floor, with the others trailing them. They stopped again when they heard another twig snap.

They all froze in place, not daring to make a move. They jumped when a fox bolted in front of Penelope and ran off into the distance. "What was that?"

They heard a voice off somewhere in the forest. Penelope gasped and Isabella covered her mouth. "… It's just a fox."

Liam narrowed his eyes as he paid attention. _'Their voices. Their distorted. Like something messed up with voice __boxes or something.'_

"Damn those kids! How did they escape?" "The boss will be upset if we don't find them." Jack glared in the direction of the voices.

_'Their boss? Who is that?'_ "Keep searching. We must find them before we're forced to give our report." They heard footsteps walking off.

They waited before crawling again. After a while, Isabella quietly eased up from the bushes to see if anyone was around.

When she did not see anyone, she turned to the others and whispered. "We're gonna have to make a run for it." "But won't they find us?" Ember asked.

"Maybe so. But they'll definitely find us if we stay put. We're all bunched up together and there's barely any cover for us here." Said Dewayne.

"We might have to split up. Go in teams of twos but keep traveling in the same direction. We need to try and make it to the city." said Isabella.

"I don't know if I can make it. I definitely can't run the whole night." Penelope told them. "I'll help you. I'm strong enough to carry you on my back if I need to."

Dewayne offered. She nodded. "Thank you." "I'm a very active runner." Said Jack. "I guess that means I'll go with you then." Said Ember. "That leaves me and Liam."

Isabella said. Liam looked at the sky. "Let's wait at least until those clouds cover the moon." He suggested. "But don't we need it to see?" Jack asked.

"The cover of darkness works better in our favor. The light would expose us and our pursuers would find us easier. At least with the dark, we can hide in plain sight if

we needed to." Isabella pointed out. "Your forgetting something. Our kidnappers are made of ink. They'll be able to hide in the shadows too." Said Ember.

"True. But this way, it makes it harder on them to see us too." Penelope reminder her. "Okay. Let's wait." When the thick cloud reached the moon and it's powerful light

dimmed, Everyone crawled to their designated partners. "Ready?" Isabella asked. They all muttered yes. "Okay. Run." They all got up and started running

quickly. Though they did run through some briars they could not see in the dark. Liam even felt one hit his face and possibly a trickle of blood drip down his face.

Dewayne held onto Penelope's hand as they both ran separately from the others. Ember did a good job on her own keeping up with Jack.

There were a few times they heard something ahead and Isabella whispered to get down. The others were not able to hear her but they saw her and Liam jump down

into the bushes and they did the same thing. They all tried hard to control their breathing as they were unsure if it was a wild animal or possibly the ink creatures.

They all stayed still when a large black creature on two legs walked right in front of their hiding place. Another one soon followed it. "Any sign of them?"

"No. I thought I heard something though. What about on the other side of the woods?" "Nothing." They heard a cell phone ring. Ember almost panicked because she

thought it was her phone. Jack grabbed her arm to stop her from freaking out to pull it out for fear they'd be heard. The creature did not seem to notice.

A man walked up to the two creatures. "Any sign of them?" "Nothing yet." The man groaned. "Our boss will kill us when he learns we lost them."

He pulled a phone out of his pocket. "That's him calling now." He stared at the phone. "What are you waiting for?" The creature asked him.

"You want to tell him that our prey slipped away from us? We should have been there hours ago!" The phone kept going off. Reluctantly, he answered.

"Yes? Hello, sir… Uh. Yes. We had the children as you said… Yes… had." The voice on the other end sounded mad as it became louder.

"Well, sir… they somehow… managed to… escape." The man pulled the phone away from his ear as the voice on the other became louder. He pulled it back.

"We're in the woods looking for them and I have men watching the hotel. They had not come back yet, which means, they might still be out here somewhere.

We'll keep looking… yes… I know sir. I'll call you the minute we find them… what? Emergency? Very well. I'll come back to the base." He hung up.

"I'm being summoned. You all, keep watching the roads. Those children might try to catch a ride back to the city and that would be a problem.

So guard the road, and if you seem them, capture them and tie them tight enough so they can't slip away like this again!" He shouted at them.

He walked off with the creatures following him. When they were gone, they all quietly slipped out of the bushes and quietly walked for the time.

They did not dare speak to each other frightened they would attract attention. They also did not dare stop to sleep for fear of being recaptured.

They still stopped to take breaks, even though their muscles were screaming at them for the relentless trek through the woods.

Their bodies ached and wanted much needed sleep, but they trudged on, even into sunrise. Ember kept checking her phone for service but did not get much

of anything. They walked on until they agreed to try running during the morning while the day was still cool, and to attempt to warm their bodies up. They would take

a break when Penelope seemed to fall on the ground whenever she tripped on a root. She was not the only one, for they all lost their footing at one point due to their

exhaustion. Their stomachs growled furiously as they kept walking, or running when they felt the need. The hours seemed to drag out as the sun grew high and the

heat of the day rolled in. They were all dehydrated so they did not speak for the whole day. As it got to be late afternoon when they took another break, ignoring their

growling stomachs and dry mouths. They all sat down. "Does anyone have an idea how much further it is?" Ember's voice was hoarse as she asked. "It shouldn't be

too much farther. If we… if we keep walking… we'll be there by sunset." Dewayne replied. Jack sighed as he stood up to look around. He thought he saw something in

the distance. He rubbed his weary eyes before he looked again. He quickly tapped Penelope's shoulder and pointed in the distance. She looked and turned pale.

She quietly whispered to him. "Oh my God. Is that-?" "Yep." Jack Muttered. "And their ready to do business. Let's just hope their as tired and worn out as we are."

Jack knelt back down. The others followed their gaze. Two ink creatures were wandering on the other side of the woods. The ink seemed to drip from them.

"They haven't seen us yet." Isabella pointed out. "Nope. Their backs are towards us so far." Liam said as he crawled to his hands and knees.

The others followed. "Let's scram before they notice us." Said Ember. They crawled away trying to get away from them.

They went a good range from the ink creatures until Dewayne's foot snapped a twig. They stopped.

Isabella looked over her shoulder to see if the ink creatures noticed. They immediately turned their gaze towards them. "They see us."

Liam glanced over his shoulder. The ink creatures melted out of view. "Run like the devil's on your heels." Said Liam as he bolted up and started running.

They all did as soon as he did. The ink creatures seemed to have difficultly trying to keep up with them. "Keep going! We'll lose them soon." Said Dewayne.

Ember peeked over then continued to watch where she was going. "Their having a hard time keeping us in sight!" Soon they reached a clearing and saw something

rising up against the sky. "It's the city! Finally!" "No time to stop. We have to get there before those things stop us." Said Dewayne.

Penelope collapsed and Jack grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder and kept running. She looked back to see the ink creatures nearing the tree line.

"Keep going. We're starting to lose them." "Will you be alright when we reach the city?" He asked. "Yeah. I'll be fine then." She answered.

They reached the city as the sun began to set in the distance. Jack set Penelope down. The part of the city they went into seemed to be quiet and empty.

"Is anyone out there?" Ember called out. There was nothing other than the sound of their heavy footsteps as they ran. The section of the city they reached seemed

completely abandoned. "Where are we? This place is a ghost town." Said Isabella. Dewayne looked around. "Oh boy. I remember they said a section of the city was

banned from tourists… because of the haunted studio." "Wait. We're near that?" Jack asked. They heard a trash can fall over in the distance that got them moving

again. They came to a fence and paused. "What should we do here?" Ember asked. They heard another trash can fall in the back. "Where are those kids?"

They heard a man's angry voice shout. "I say we climb." Said Jack as he started the ascent. Ember and Dewayne followed his example.

Penelope was gasping for breath. "I don't know if I can." "You have to, Pennie. Their almost on us." Said Isabella. "We'll climb beside you. Don't worry." Said Liam.

Jack reached the top and swung one leg over. Then the other. Pennie, Liam and Isabella started climbing.

Jack was halfway down the other side when he jumped to the ground. He looked up at a sign in front of him. His face grew pale.

The sign was distorted from age, but he caught sight of a familiar grin that used to haunt his nightmares.

Ember and Dewayne had already climbed over the top. Liam and Isabella were technically ahead of Penelope and approaching the top.

Pennie was trying her hardest to get her breathing under control and keep climbing. Ember and Dewayne jumped down to the ground.

Liam and Isabella reached the top. Jack walked in the direction of the sign and caught sight of a street sign. He then found a building with another worn down sign.

"J… rew Studios." His voice was barely above a whisper and he could not hide the fear inside it. Ember and Dewayne ran to him.

"Jack snap out of it. The ink things are coming." Liam jumped down, and helped catch Isabella went she did. Pennie had climbed over the top.

The sound of their pursuers was getting closer. "Pennie. You need to jump now." Isabella told her. "Are you crazy?" She replied.

Dewayne ran over to help them. Liam looked at Dewayne. "Pennie. Come on. Dewayne and I will catch you. But we have to go now before they spot us."

Pennie nodded. Ember hurried back to them and spoke up to her. "Pennie. Just pretend your a cheerleader okay? When you let go of the fence, cross your arms over

your chest as you fall. The boys will catch you and I'll make sure you don't hit your head on the ground. It'll be fun." Ember tried to coax her. "On three, okay?"

Dewayne asked. She nodded. "On three." She agreed. "Okay. One." Liam and Dewayne crossed their arms over each others, while Ember corrected them on how

far their distance needed to be. "Two." She counted. Pennie saw a figure in the distance. "Three." Pennie shouted as she let go and crossed her arms over her chest.

Liam and Dewayne caught her, while Ember made sure she did not hit the ground. Dewayne carried her as she was started to pant. Ember saw Jack go towards a

building. "Come on." They followed her to Jack, who stared at the building before them with a key in his hand. "Jack! They're right behind us!" She shouted.

Jack snapped out of his trance and thrust the key into the door. He turned it with a little difficultly and heard a click. He yanked the door open and held it.

He gestured to the others. "Quickly!" He shouted. They all ran towards him and darted through the doorway.

Ember went in first, followed by Liam, Isabella and lastly Dewayne with Pennie in his arms. As soon as they were all in, Jack pulled his key out and backed inside,

closing the door to hide them all. He ran to catch up with the others, unsure of what he was feeling at the moment.

They were all standing around catching their breath. Some of their faces were covered with blood from running in the brambles in the darkness of night.

Liam had a scar under his left eye and dried blood on his cheek. Dewayne had some dried blood next to his lip. "Any sign of them?" Liam asked.

Jack shook his head. "I don't think so. They probably don't know we're in here." Said Jack. Dewayne checked out their surroundings. "What is this place?" He asked.

They all started to look around. The walls and floor were made of wooden boards and strange posters with a cartoon devil like figure spread out through the hallways

. "I'm not sure." said Ember. They all began walking through the corridors. Ember found a desk with a sketch of a cartoon character.

It looked like the devil creature but with a different design. Beside it was a sticky note that said "No." "I guess this was some kind of studio?" Ember questioned herself

with that revelation. Dewayne looked at it while the others continued exploring. "What is this thing?" Dewayne inquired. Ember noticed the cutout cardboard of the

same character with some adjustments. "I guess it was this. I'm not sure what it's from though." "That's Bendy." They both jumped to see Isabella walking

towards them. Ember gestured to the sketch on the desk. "I guess this was a rough draft." "Isabella. What is Bendy? I've never heard of it." Said Dewayne.

"That's not surprising. Very few in this day have heard of Bendy the Dancing Demon." Isabella told them. "Hang on. Isn't that what Liam's called at school?"

Ember asked. "No. But close. His is the Dancing Devil." Dewayne corrected her. "I always hated that name." All three jumped and turned to see Liam.

Liam smirked at the sight of them jumping. "I only tolerated it because it reminded me of my favorite childhood character." He pointed at the cardboard of Bendy.

Isabella looked at him surprised. "You grew up with him too?" "Yeah. I guess. In a way. One could say we're like family." Liam said before he walked off to find Jack

and Pennie. They all looked at each other confused then followed him. "Uh. Liam? What do you mean you and a little old 1930s cartoon are like family?"

Isabella asked. "It's a complicated story. And we have more important concerns to deal with at the moment. Anyway, does anyone know how far it is to the hotel we

were staying at? Another question, We're back in the city, shouldn't we have some sort of signal now for calling the police?" Liam asked. "That's right."

Ember pulled her phone out of her shirt. "What exactly are we gonna tell them? Hey, we were all kidnapped by a bunch ink things and now we've locked ourselves in

an old studio for safety? Please help?" Jack Asked. "You do realize how insane that statement is?" He turned towards the others.

"What's insane is that we got kidnapped by said ink things and we escaped from a moving truck, ran through the woods for a night and a day and ended up inside the

studio which for the time being seems to be our only safe haven." Said Liam. "What surprises me is they tried to suffocate us when they grabbed us.

They could have easily killed us but they didn't. Why is that?" Isabella asked. "I have no idea." Liam replied. Dewayne stopped at the second cardboard cutout of

Bendy. He looked at it for a moment then at the others. "They needed us for something? I mean that's gonna be the only explanation.

They were after us. They nabbed us, nearly killed us in the process, but they didn't because they need us for something?" Dewayne questioned.

Penelope looked at him. "Now the big question is… what?" They were all distracted when Ember was shouting at her phone. "No! No! No! Why? Why phone?"

They all gave her confused looks. Ember banged her head against the support beam. "Uh? Ember? You okay?" Pennie asked.

Ember groaned then looked at her phone. ""No. Me and my stupidity just lost us more valuable time. I had my phone on the whole time since yesterday and now it

just died." Jack groaned this time. "Just great." Then he punched the wall. "Whoa. Calm down man." Dewayne tried to reason with him.

"How? Tell me how can I calm down?" Jack shouted. Liam held his hands up. "Hold up now! Panicking will not help us in any way.

And if we take last night into consideration or even the night before, this isn't exactly the worst situation we've been in.

Okay? We'll get out of this just like we got out of that truck. And the woods." Liam pointed to the scar with the dried blood and he walked over to Jack and whispered

in his ear. "Besides. We need to remain calm especially so we don't cause a certain someone to have an asthma attack." Jack looked at Liam surprised.

Liam carefully glanced at Pennie and Jack followed his glance. Liam looked back at him. "How did we miss that?" Jack asked him.

"She took it when y'all weren't looking. She didn't want to hold us up." Liam explained to Jack quietly. Jack caught the quick movement as Penelope quickly pulled out

her inhaler and took her medicine. "So try to keep a level head. Okay? We don't want you to lose it." Liam patted his shoulder then went over to the others.

Jack signed. "We should probably get out of here." "Yes. But We just got here. And I'd hate to say it, it's probably the best place we can stay at.

It was close to dark when we got here. My guess is we'll have to stay the night. We can try to head out in the morning.

Hopefully they'll have moved off to look somewhere else." Said Liam. "Well. I guess we better find a good place to crash for the night." Said Isabella.

"It's really cold in this place." Said Pennie. "We can try to look around for any blankets or something." Said Dewayne. "What kind of animation studio would have

blankets? Especially this empty colossal dinosaur?" Asked Jack. "We all still have our jackets. That'll have to do us for the time being." said Isabella.

"I'm extremely exhausted. We've been running for a whole day and a night with a few breaks in between.

I wouldn't be surprised if I lost over ten pounds in one day compared to a normal track meet." Said Ember.

"Yeah. We're all worn out. But shouldn't a couple of us stay awake? In case those… those things do try to search this place?" Pennie asked as she hugged herself to

fight the chilly air. "Not a bad idea." Said Dewayne. "I'll keep first watch." Said Liam. "I'll stay up too." Dewayne offered.

"No. You get some sleep. I'll watch with him. Besides. I won't be getting any sleep in this rundown hole." said Jack.

"You seem to be frightened of this place. Anything you'd care to tell us?" Ember asked. "Let's just say this place makes me really uncomfortable. That's all."

Jack answered her. "So where do we sleep?" Ember asked. Dewayne gestured to the room. "I mean, this room has enough space. And we're not too far from the exit."

Dewayne suggested. "Agreed." Said Liam. Penelope and Isabella went to one corner and laid down against the wall, huddling together.

Ember sat down with her back to the wall and she looked at the Bendy cardboard. "Watch that thing be the first I see when I wake up." She said as she pulled her

jacket tight and pulled her zipper up. Dewayne chuckled as he took the wall right across from her. "What? New boyfriend?" He asked.

Ember rolled her eyes but laughed. "Well. He's certainly more charming than the options we have at school."

Dewayne pouted. "Gee. That hurt my soul." Ember shook her head. "Your the one who opened that can of worms." Dewayne nodded.

"I did. But you know what? I have no regrets. It was worth it." Ember laughed as she laid down.

"Good night. Music boy." "Night, cheer girl." He pulled his hoodie over his eyes and rested against the wall.

Liam and Jack stood against the wall across the room from the others. "Hey, Jack. Where did you get that key?" Liam asked. Jack sighed.

"It was given to me by my grandma. I honestly wasn't sure if it'd fit. I was kinda hoping it wouldn't." "Your family has a connection to this place?"

Liam asked. "More than I'd care to admit. You?" "About the same, actually. Not all of it is good." Jack nodded. "Hey. Thanks." Jack told him.

Liam looked at him confused. "For what?" "For getting me to remain calm. I shouldn't have lost my cool like I did." "We're teenage boys. It's only natural."

Liam replied. "Then how are you remaining calm? So far, out of everyone, you seem to be the last person here to panic." Jack inquired. "To be honest… I'm not."

Jack looked at him confused. "What do you mean?" Liam sighed. "I'm not calm at all. The only reason I've managed to stay this way for so long is because I saw

everyone else around me starting to panic. But the truth is, inside. I was too. But seeing the rest of you like that. I knew I had to get a hold of myself and not let my

fear control me. So I just focused on one goal at a time. Get everyone out of that truck and make sure no one was left behind."

"Wow. But you seemed to do that with such ease." Jack admitted. Liam smirked slightly. "It took a lot of practice. Now I'm used to hiding my feelings from people.

Kinda had to when my parents got divorced. I still have a good relationship with my dad. Not as good with my-. With Ravyn. but I just don't let them see what

I'm feeling. Because I didn't want to add to the burdens they already had. Same with my little sister, Tess." Jack whistled.

"How do you do it? How do you not explode from all the emotions?" "How do you usually cope with yours?" Liam asked him. Jack hesitated.

"With baseball. I can usually release my anger or sadness with pitching the ball or hitting with the bat. It feels like I can sent them flying like I can that ball."

Jack answered. "It's similar to me. But I get all my feelings out with dancing. That's when I'm at my best. It doesn't matter if I'm just practicing or in a competition.

I always drive my emotions out in the dance." Jack nodded. "Makes sense." Liam gave him a side glance. "If you repeat any of this to anyone, I will deny it."

Liam told him. Jack scoffed. "Same to you. This stuff shall remain confidential." "I'm holding ya to it. It's sacred." "Yep. For sure."


	6. Nightmares Come True

Hours later, Liam was still leaning against the wall while his eyes shut. He woke up when he felt someone tap his shoulder. "Liam."

He rubbed his eyes so he could see who it was. "Dewayne?" Dewayne gestured to the others were were still conked out.

"You should get some sleep too. Jack's already beaten you to it." Liam looked at the floor beside him to find Jack snoozing away. Liam looked at Dewayne.

"What about you?" Dewayne pulled him off the wall. "I'm fine. I had a few hours rest. You need some now. And I don't believe the wall would be very

comfortable." Liam nodded. "Thanks." "Your welcome." Dewayne replied. Liam went over to the spot where Dewayne had slept. Liam laid down on his back, his arms

folded behind his head and his legs crossed. Soon he shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Liam opened his eyes. he thought a creepy Bendy with ink covering his

eyes was smiling down at him. This startled him and he bolted up into a sit position. He looked around to see everybody was gone.

He stood up and called to them. "Hello? Guys?" He heard nothing but silence. He looked at the Bendy cardboard. "I don't suppose you can tell me where they went?"

The Bendy cardboard's eyes moved from Liam to a doorway. The cartoon character pointed at the doorway for Liam.

Liam did not seem to find himself surprised by this and he started to walk in the direction of the doorway. He turned back to the cardboard. "Thank you."

Then continued down the way. When he entered another room, the door closed behind him. He tried to open it but it would not move.

He could not tell if it was locked or not. It just refused to budge. He sighed and continued walking. He stopped when he came across an operation table with a Boris

strapped to it. Liam looked at him, saw his chest was ripped open with a wrench inside it's chest. Liam ran down the hallway only for the walls to be covered with ink

spreading along them like veins. Liam stopped running as he heard something. He saw a creature turn a corner into the room he was in.

It was a twisted version of his favorite childhood character. It was taller than him and it seemed to snarl when it realized he was there.

Liam ran for it, running deeper into the hallways. He took a glance at some writing on the wall. "All sheep will come for the slaughter."

Liam booked it but the ink demon seemed to be closing in on him. The exit was in his sight but the hallway seemed to stretch far, with the exit even further away.

The twisted Bendy almost caught up to him when Liam fell through the floor, falling deeper and deeper into darkness. He heard a lot of voices crying out in

agony. Whispers of "The Dark puddles." "He will save us." "Sacrifices must be made." and "We don't remember much."

As he fell, he came to a light at the bottom of the abyss. "Liam?" He heard a familiar voice faintly in the distance.

It grew louder until it almost sounded like it was right in front of him as the light grew blindingly bright. "Liam!"

His eyes snapped open and he was looking right up into Isabella's face. "Are you okay? Your dripping in sweat."

Liam sat up when his stomach made a loud gurgle. He clutched his stomach. "I guess it was just a nightmare brought on by hunger."

Her stomach growled too. "Yeah. I can't say I blame it. We haven't eaten in two days." Liam looked to see the others were awake and getting up.

He slowly got onto his feet. It was painful though. His legs were stiff from all the running they had done. "Who's ready to get some breakfast?"

They all raised their hands. Then they all went back to the door. Liam tried to open it but it would not move. "What the-? It's stuck." "Are you serious?"

Ember cried out. "Jack? Did you lock it when we came in?" Liam asked. "No. I don't think I did." He pulled out the key and went over to him.

He knelt down to put the key in the lock but stopped. "What the heck?" "Come on, Jack. Any day now." Said Dewayne. "I… I." He looked frantically around the door,

running his hands over the wood frantically searching for something. "T-the k-keyhole. It's gone." Jack stammered. They all looked at him with wide saucer eyes in

astonishment. "What?" They asked in unison. "The hole that my key goes into. It's not here!" "How is that possible?" Ember asked. "I don't know!" Jack shouted.

Liam knelt beside him. "My gosh, he's right. I don't see a key hole anywhere on this side." "How are we gonna get out then?" Pennie's voice was laced with panic.

"Maybe we bust the door down?" Dewayne suggested. Jack and Liam turned to each other and nodded. "Better stand back." Jack told them.

They did, while Jack and Liam were preparing themselves. "I'll go directly for the lock." Said Jack. Liam nodded. "On three."

"One. Two. Three." They both counted down then ran full speed at the door. They both rammed into it, only to shout in pain and fall down to the floor.

The others were flabbergasted. "What kind of door is this that stands against two boys?" Ember asked. "A difficult one." Isabella answered.

Liam stayed on the ground while Jack tried to stand up. "I felt something pop." Liam said. Dewayne walked over to him and felt the shoulder Liam was holding.

"Oh. Dude. You might have dislocated your shoulder." "Aw. Not again. Can someone pop it back in place?" Liam asked. Jack went to him.

"It's gonna hurt." Jack warned him. Liam nodded. Penelope turned away not wanting to watch. As Jack pushed Liam's left shoulder, they all heard a loud crack as Liam

shouted in pain. They grimaced at the sound. Jack backed up. "Is that better?" Liam rubbed his shoulder and moved his arm.

"Much better. That door, hurts like a brick wall." "No kidding. And it looks like regular door." Jack admitted. "So now what are we gonna do?" Isabella asked.

"No choice, but to look for another way out." Answered Liam. "I wish we had some food at least." said Ember.

They returned to the room where they had slept and paused. They stared at the two Bendy cutouts that were looking at them. Penelope looked at everybody.

"There was just one when we woke up, wasn't there?" "Yeah. And there was only one when we left. Is someone else here?" Dewayne asked.

"You don't think it's those guys from yesterday?" Isabella asked. "It better not be. Otherwise we're in a lot of trouble." said Jack.

"We're in trouble either way. With or without them. But with them… might as well have one foot in the grave." Said Dewayne.

"Those things definitely aren't taking me back alive, I'll say that much." Said Ember. She marched pass the two Bendys and headed to the open door on the other

side. The others went after her. They entered a room and found a second desk with the same rejected Bendy and a Bendy sticker.

In the same room next to the desk was a movie projector. Past it was another intersecting hallway, They turned left, saw a Bendy sticker on the wall.

Then took another hallway to the right. At the end of the hallway, they came to a room with "Dreams come true." On the wall. Jack shook his head.

"A rundown abandoned animation studio falling at the seams is a dream come true? Someone needs to set their standards."

"Many of us say the same about you." Said Ember. The others laughed. Pennie shook her head. "A little more sensitive, Ember?" Jack shrugged.

"I've had worse. Still stings though." They turned left down another hallway and found a giant piece of machinery. "What is this?" Dewayne asked.

"It's huge." Jack exclaimed. Isabella got closer to it. "Hmm. It seems like it's an ink machine." "Really?" Liam asked.

"I don't know what the studio would be doing with one that big. This sucker must have cost a body and two legs." Isabella said.

"Why did you have to say it like that?" Pennie asked. "Because and arm and a leg wouldn't express the expenses enough. This thing would have been a fortune."

"How would you know?" Jack asked. "Isabella's been studying machines and stuff like that." Penelope told him. Jack snapped his fingers and grinned.

"That's right. Your studying to be a mechanic. You said something about that the night we were all kidnapped." Isabella walked up to the machine.

"Whoever built this definitely knew what they were doing." She stopped and rubbed her chin in thought.

Penelope shook her head. "Okay, Isa. Spit it out. You found something to geek out over." Isabella looked at her sister.

"Well, it's not something to exactly gawk over. But the handy work. It almost reminded me of stuff I've seen Dad do… when he was still alive."

Penelope walked over to her sister and stared at the machine. After a while she shook her head.

"Sadly, only you'd be able to notice that. You and Daddy were tight when he was still around. Though I will admit.

Mama did say Daddy had a copy of some blue prints his grandpa left behind. I remember glancing at it. It looked like this." Penelope mentioned.

"Yeah. I remember. Dad showed me those blue prints. I remember this machine's schematics were in there."

She looked in the direction of where they had come from and pointed to the wall. "How many of those Bendy cutouts do you think this studio has?"

They all whirled around to see it resting against the wall. "What the-? Not those again." Jack shouted when he jumped at the sight of it.

Liam watched him keep jumping. "Dude. Please, knock it off. You look like your trying to dance over hot coals." Jack continued and glared at Liam.

"I can't help it. Those things are freaking me out. And does someone have an explanation why there was suddenly two in the last room we saw them in?"

Dewayne and Liam walked to him and both put their hands on his shoulders to stop him from bouncing. "Chill man." Said Dewayne.

"Come on. Let's backtrack." Said Ember. They started to head out of the room.

Liam saw another hallway to the right that they hadn't been down before and went that direction. Dewayne and the others saw and followed.

Isabella looked at the Ink Machine for a bit. Then she went to the other side of it and saw a gear resting on the shelf. She picked it up and examined it.

Penelope called her name. "Isa." Isabella turned back to her sister who was waiting and went to her. "You okay?" She nodded.

"Yeah. Come on. Let's catch up with them." They both left the room and took the hall to the right.

At the end of the corridor, they found another desk to the right and another cardboard Bendy.

Pass him, the corridor went on. It continued on the left as well. Jack tried to open the doors to the closed rooms connected to the hall.

"None of these open." Penelope looked at the Bendy. "Is there one in every corridor?" She asked. Ember shook her head.

"There's too many of those things. Man. It's worse than my father trying to keep tabs on me." She paused for a moment.

"Hmm. Never thought I'd say that." Dewayne passed the Bendy cardboard and Ember followed him.

They reached another hallway when Dewayne looked up and yanked Ember to the wall just as a wooden board fell off the ceiling.

Ember exclaimed in surprise, staring at the board that almost hit her. The others came running when they heard the crash.

"What happened?" Isabella asked. "This place is falling to ." Said Dewayne as he pointed to the board. "That almost hit me." Said Ember.

Isabella looked at the ceiling then to the right of the hallway. "Then we better keep an eye out as we go along." She went down the right.

Liam and Penelope followed her. Jack waited with Ember to calm down while Dewayne followed the others. "You okay?" He asked her. She nodded.

"That... might have been painful." Said Ember. "Come on. How about I go first?" She nodded. He offered her his hand.

She took it and he led her down towards the others. They reached the room the others were in.

"What is all this?" Penelope asked pointing to six pedestals and the pictures behind each one. "I don't know." Liam answered.

There were three pedestals along the wall on each side of the room. Isabella looked at each picture.

"A wrench? A Book? A… gear?" She questioned and held up the gear she had picked up. She set it on the pedestal with the picture it matched up to.

A light shone on the gear from the ceiling. Dewayne pointed at the ones on the other wall. "A Bendy silhouette? A bottle of… black liquid?

Maybe poison judging by the skull and cross bones. And a music note?" "What does any of this even mean?" Jack asked.

"There's no telling." Isabella replied. "It seems to be a random order of objects." Penelope went to each picture examining it.

"This bottle is a bottle of ink." Jack and Ember turned to her surprised. "Are you sure?" Penelope nodded. "Yeah. I'm in the art class, so I look for details in the

pictures. This one is definitely a bottle of ink. Artists use them a lot in the old days before we got pens. The others one referring to music. There's an inscription below

it saying record disk." "Record disk? Who uses that anymore?" Ember asked. "This place did because in it's day they didn't have iPod or computers.

Music records was the current device they could use for playing or recording their music." Said Liam. "My dad still has some his grandpa used to have."

"The last one isn't a silhouette. It's says Bendy Plushie, and the book is a specific one. The Illusion of Living." Penelope informed them.

"I still don't see the significance of what this has to do with anything. It's just pictures of random objects on the wall." Ember pointed out.

"Let's go back." Said Dewayne. They all left the room and turned the corner to find another Bendy cardboard. They all jumped at this when they found it.

"Oh my God!" Ember shouted. "That was not there before!" Jack Exclaimed, pointing at it. "How are these things even moving?" Isabella asked.

"Someone has got to be pranking us." Dewayne said. "That's all there is to it. These things shouldn't be able to move on their own. The fact that we keep seeing them

popping up, somebody else has to be here, moving them around." "Maybe Dewayne. For our sake, I hope your right." Liam told him.

They moved by the cardboard, none of them even daring to touch it then they went towards another room. Liam froze just before they reached it.

"Liam? What is it?" Isabella asked. They looked ahead and saw another cartoon character. "What is that?" Dewayne asked and moved closer to it.

He stopped when he got into the room. "Oh my!" They were staring a character strapped to a table, with it's chest ripped open. Ember covered her mouth in shock.

Jack did not dare take another step. Liam was stunned as his nightmare he had this morning was coming back to him.

"Uh. Dewayne?" Penelope tried to get his attention, though her voice was shaky and she seemed to have trouble keeping her breath under took a step closer.

"Please tell me this is just a messed up Halloween decoration. Despite how real it seems from here."

Dewayne reached up to touch the cartoon wolf's ear. He rubbed it then jumped back exclaiming to them. "Oh! Sweet Heaven! That's not fake!"

Isabella looked to the right and pointed to some more writing on the wall. "Who's laughing now?" She read it out loud in shock.

"No one! None of us are laughing at this point! Are you sure Dewayne? It's not fake?" Jack shouted. "Hey! I had a dog once!

I remember how his ears felt when I pet him. That!" Dewayne pointed at the dead wolf. "That did not feel fake to me!"

Penelope turned heel and ran back down the hall past the cardboard Bendy and ran to the wall at the end of the hall.

She fell to her knees and vomited. Isabella ran after her. "Penelope?" She called to her and went to her side. Penelope coughed then began gasping hard.

"No. no. no." Isabella muttered. She looked at Penelope. "Do you have your inhaler?" She asked. Penelope nodded.

Isabella pulled the inhaler out of her pocket and handed it to her. The others came back to check on them. "Is she okay?" Liam asked.

Isabella helped her sit up away from the puke and Penelope put the inhaler to her lips. She pressed the button and took a deep breath. Ember was surprised.

"Pennie? You have asthma?" Penelope nodded. She coughed. Isabella looked at them. "Though it's not as bad as what others may have.

Hers is normally activated by smoke or if she runs too hard. Hence, that's why some of us carried her on the run." "I'm sorry." Pennie croaked.

"Hey. Don't talk. Rest first." Isabella told her. She nodded. "I guess that Boris disturbed her a lot?" Liam asked. Penelope nodded.

She used her sleeve to wipe the tears that were coming out of her eyes. "I can't… I can't go back in there." She told them.

"It's okay. You don't have to." Liam told her. Isabella rubbed her sister's back. "You go on ahead. I'll stay here with her."

"We shouldn't split up. There's no telling what might there is someone else around, they might have done that to Boris as well as put the strange card boards around."

Said Liam. "Why do you keep calling him Boris?" Ember asked. "Because he was a character in the Bendy cartoon. Boris the wolf. Pennie and I loved that wolf a lot."

Said Isabella. Penelope nodded in agreement. "I don't think they should be left alone, but we can't just stay here either. If there's some crazy killer in this place with

us, we need to get out of here as quickly as we can." Said Ember. "We can at least just look for the exit then come back here and get them when we've found it."

"I still don't agree with this." Said Liam. Dewayne went over to Penelope and Isabella. "I'll stay with them." Jack looked at him. "What can you do?"

"I'm not just into music you know. I've also been learning Krav Maga." Jack looked at him confused. "You've been learning what now?"

"Krav Maga. It's a martial arts used by Israelis. It helps you to finish a fight quickly." Dewayne answered. "But how do you know this?" Jack asked.

Dewayne held out his Star of David where they could see it better. "My mom was half Jewish. And my father, well he's dead, but my stepfather." He grimaced.

"He had a gambling issue. When my mom passed away, he would come and try to take whatever money I had. So I've had a lot of practice with kicking him out the

door whenever he broke in." Jack backed up, hands in the air. "I'd say their in capable hands." Liam looked at him. "Your sure you can take care of them?"

Dewayne nodded. "Yeah. I was actually being raised by my instructor when my stepdad abandoned me. I'll protect them." Liam nodded. "Okay bud."

Liam turned to Ember and Jack. "I guess the rest of us go further in." Ember looked at him surprised. "What?" Jack looked at her kinda cocky.

"This was your idea. So don't think your getting out of it. Penelope has her reasons. Isabella needs to be here for her sister. Dewayne's their body guard.

Which leaves you, me and Liam… to walk deeper into the abyss." Ember looked at them both. "Are you kidding me?" Liam went on ahead and passed the Bendy

cardboard. Ember shook her head. "No. No way." Jack took a step forward. "Okay. Don't say I didn't try." He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Oh! Jack! Your are dead when I get down!" She shouted at him, kicking and thrashing. Jack jumped, causing her to stop and he eased by Bendy.

"Come on, princess. We've got work to do." Liam walked up to Boris. "Why did someone do this?" Jack walked up to him. "What? Rip his insides out?"

"Well, that too. But why is there a cartoon… that's real and why is he dead strapped to an operating table?" Liam turned to look at him and just realized Jack had

Ember over his shoulder. Liam crossed his arms. "Do I dare ask?" Jack shook his head, while Ember just pouted with her arms crossed.

Liam rolled his eyes and saw an ink bottle in the corner. He picked it up and looked at the others. "What is that doing here?" Liam wondered. Jack shrugged.

"I'm more curious why Boris is here, tied to a table with his rib cage open." Jack replied. Ember looked at the ink from over Jack's shoulder. "Hang on. In the pedestal

room, didn't it have a picture of a bottle of ink?" She asked. Liam and Jack nodded. "Maybe we need to find these items for something?" She guessed.

"A scavenger hunt?" Jack asked. "Worth a try." Said Liam as he exited the room and they followed. Jack put Ember down so she could walk.

They reached the Bendy cutout then Liam went into a room on the right. He walked over to a desk and picked up a music disk.

"I guess this is for the music note?" Jack shrugged. "I don't know." "I think so." Liam continued walked through the room then exited on the left side of it.

Jack shook his head. Ember looked at him. "What?" "Remember how they said this studio was haunted? I'm starting to buy that. I feel like we're being watched.

And it's not performing in the spotlight kind of feeling." Ember shook her head. "You know. You've been on edge ever since we came here. Anything you wanna say?"

Jack just walked after Liam. Ember watched him before following him. Liam found his way back to the office with the rejection of Bendy on it and looked around the

room. He set the ink and the record on the chair and tried to count off the items on his finger, ignoring the presence of the Bendy cardboard that was starting to make

him a bit nervous. "Ink bottle, Music disk. What else was there?" He thought back to what Penelope had said. He briefly put his hands together and cracked his

knuckles. He returned to the entrance of the room, turned back to face it and looked around with his hands on his hips.

"Ink bottle, Music note, Bendy Plushie, Wrench." He snapped his fingers when he found the wrench. He walked over and picked it up.

"Nice." He threw the wrench in the air and caught it again. Then Jack and Ember reached him. "Any luck?" Liam held up the wrench.

"Three out of six." "How about you wait here with the three items while Jack and I look for the others?" Ember suggested. Liam shrugged.

"That's up to you both." Ember gestured with her head at Jack to follow her and she left the room. "What else are we looking for?" Jack asked Liam.

"A plushie of this guy." He pointed at the cardboard. Jack groaned. "I guess your not a Bendy fan?" Liam asked. "Little guy gave me the creeps as a kid.

And I had a lot of nightmares because of him. I actually preferred Boris, but mom said I was so mischievous, she started calling me her little devil."

Jack turned to go after Ember. Liam moved the other items from the chair and sat down. Ember and Jack found the room to the ink machine.

"I think we outta double check the rest of the place." Said Ember and she went in the opposite direction of the ink machine. Jack tapped her shoulder.

She looked at him when he pointed to the floor. Underneath a door, there was a light on. Ember hurried back to grab the wood that almost fell on her head and brought

it back to Jack. Jack stayed to make sure whoever was there did not get out. He looked at Ember. "Was everyone where you left them?" He whispered.

She nodded. "Isabella, Penelope and Dewayne were still near the Boris room. And I checked on Liam. He's still at that desk." Jack nodded.

"This might be the Boris killer. I say hit him first and ask questions later." "Let's at least knock him out and then we can take him to the table and tie him to it like he

did with that cartoon." Jack nodded. "Sounds like a plan." They quietly approached the door. When they reached it the light went out. Jack and Ember froze for a

moment then Jack moved to the other side of it. When he did, the door opened on it's own. Jack and Ember's hearts dropped.

Jack had the plank of wood resting on his shoulder like it was a baseball bat. They both peeked into the room. "No one's in here?" She whispered.

"That's not possible. We saw the light on then flick off. Someone has to be here." Ember walked into the small room. "There's only a desk and a chair."

Jack shook his head. "The more we stay here, the more I'm inclined to believe ghosts exist." Ember looked at him. "I'm starting to believe it too.

No wait. It's gotta be some kind of parlor trick. Or maybe the bulb blew out just now." "I'm not all that convinced, Ember." She sighed.

"Well, if it is a ghost, it might be the ghost of that dead Boris. Seeing as we haven't been harmed yet." "Please don't jinx us." Said Jack.

She looked at the shelves and saw some cans. She picked it up. "Bacon… soup?" Jack looked at her surprised. "You found food?" "I guess so.

There's no expiration date from what I can see. Oh and look." She held it up so he could see the picture of Bendy on it. "Brought to us by the little devil himself."

She said then reached for the second can. "Now I'm less excited about it." Said Jack. "Hey now. Food is food. And we haven't eaten in two days.

I'd say it's no time to be picky. Besides, what else are you gonna eat? The wood?" Jack glanced at the plank resting on his shoulder.

"Whatever." They left the room. Jack went to the right and found the room with "Dreams come true" written on the wall. He shook his head.

"This is not a dream come true." Ember passed him and found a plushie resting on the wall. She picked him up. "Well, found item four. What else do we need?"

"Um… I don't remember." Said Jack. "Okay. We have an ink bottle. A music record, a plushie and a wrench." She counted off the items.

"The gear cog is in the pedestal room." Jack said. She looked at her five fingers. She sighed. "We better go back and ask Liam."

They moved back into the massive room with a desk and projector. Jack passed by a table and his foot hit against the chair. "Ow!"

He exclaimed then saw something next to it. He leaned down and picked up a book. He read the cover on it and in his horror dropped it.

Ember jumped and turned to him. "What's wrong?" She asked. "We shouldn't be doing this." "What do you mean?" She went over to the book and picked it up.

"The Illusion of Living? By Joey Drew?" She looked up to see Jack running back the way they had come. She ran after him, trying not to drop the bacon soup,

plushie and the book. "Jack! What's going on?" He did not answer her. He ran all the way back to the office where Liam was waiting.

"We cannot find all the items!" Jack exclaimed in desperation. Liam looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"Scatter the items again. Just leave them behind and leave this place in the dust! We can try to break that door down again!"

"Hey. I don't fancy going back home in pieces. Then I will be slaughter by Ravyn." Liam answered. Ember finally caught up.

"What is wrong with you Jack?" Liam went to her. "What's wrong?" "I don't know. He just saw this book and started freaking out-."

Jack snatched the book from her and ran. "Jack!" Dropping the items she held, Ember ran after him only for Liam to run by her in pursuit.

Jack returned to the room where he found the book and Liam was hot on his tail. Jack tried to use the table in the center to keep Liam and Ember from getting to him.

Liam tried to get closer only for Jack to move to the other side of the table. "Jack this is silly! Stop being a nuisance and-!" "Quiet Amber!"

She gasped and glared at him. "You did not just call me that!" Seizing the opportunity, Liam jumped over the table to try and reach Jack.

Jack ran and slid under the table to try and escape him, only for Liam to jump over the table again. Ember watched as they repeated this and turned to look at the

cardboard Bendy that was there. "Enjoying the show?" She asked him. Even though it did not move, she could not help but feel like the fake little devil was amused by

the boys' stupidity. Liam managed to jump one last time over the table then he grabbed Jack's ankle as he tried to crawl under in and pull him out.

Jack kicked Liam in the stomach and Liam fell on his back. "Jack!" Ember shouted at him. Jack got up and ran out. Ember chased him.

Liam rolled onto his shoulders than used his legs to buck him off the floor and got after them. He used a different hallway to pass in front of Ember and was on Jack

like a blood hound. Jack did manage to trick them into taking a wrong turn. When Liam realized this he turned around and saw Jack far ahead of them.

Knowing how close the others were, Liam shouted. "Dewayne! Stop Him!" Jack turned the corner only to get elbowed in his gut, then someone threw him over their

body and he crashed into the wall and hit the floor with his back. The book landed in front of the Bendy cardboard.

Jack gasped for air as he had the wind knocked out of him. Dewayne saw it was Jack and held his hands up in surprise. "Oh man! Sorry. Are you okay?"

Jack just wheezed and coughed. Isabella and Penelope were shocked. "Dewayne. I think you broke him." said Penelope.

Then Liam came around the corner and Dewayne took a stance before realizing it was Liam. Liam patted Dewayne on his shoulder.

"Good job stopping him." Ember came in and grabbed the book just as Jack tried to reach for it. Liam pulled her behind Dewayne then turned to Jack.

"Okay, Jack! If there's something you know about this place, I think it's high time you started telling us, dang it!" "What's going on?" Dewayne asked.

"We found this book and he lost it. Liam and I chased him all over trying to stop him and get it back." Isabella looked at them all confused.

"Just what all happened when you guys left?" "That's a story in itself." Said Ember. "We found some items that matched up with those pictures on the wall in the

pedestal room. We found a plushie, wrench, music record, ink bottle, and then they found that book." Liam briefly caught them up.

"He freaked out when I read the title. The Illusions of Living by Joey Drew." "Joey Drew?" Dewayne asked. "Yeah." Ember confirmed.

Dewayne turned to Jack. "Isn't your last name Drew?" Jack moaned and covered his face with his hands.

"There's a lot of people with the last name Drew. Just like Mine and Pennie's is Connor." Said Isabella.

"Yeah. But the fact he ran off with the book, tells me he knows more about this place than he's letting on." Said Liam as he tried to get his breathing back to normal.

"Where are the rest of the items?" Isabella asked. "Their at the desk we found when we first arrived here." Said Ember.

Isabella got up and helped her sister up. "Why don't we girls get the items and meet you in the pedestal room? Between you and Dewayne,

you should get the canary to sing, right?" Liam nodded. The girls left and Liam took a couple steps closer to Jack. "Go on. You have some explaining to do."

Jack sighed and groaned when he tried to move his legs off the wall. "This place. It's name is Joey Drew Studios." Liam was baffled.

"How do you know that?" Dewayne asked. "How do you think I had a key to this place?" Jack sat up with his back against the wall. He sighed.

"The guy was my relative. He was a scoundrel and a lunatic." Liam's face became stiff as Jack continued on. "I've heard a small fraction of what he did.

And it was enough for me to hate him." "What did he do?" Dewayne asked. "He stole his workers ideas. And no body was able to stop him."

Liam answered instead of Jack. Dewayne looked at Liam surprised. Jack got over his surprise and nodded. "Yeah. Among other things. My grandma,

she told me stories that he had passed on to her because she was his niece.

And they were some of the most twisted and horrific stories you'd ever hear in your life. She told them to me as a kid,

thinking I'd get a kick out of them but really it terrified me. Then one day. Before she died. She sent me this key."

He pulled it out of his pocket and held it up. "She mailed it to me with a note. Saying "This key is the way to your nightmares and the answers.

Should curiosity take hold over you, hold onto it at all times. If you ever gather the courage to face our families' demons, try to set them free."

Jack told them. "What kind of note is that? And why would one wish to set demons free?" Dewayne asked.

"I don't know. But with how things have been since we came in here. I'm starting to think those tales he told her weren't just stories."

Liam turned to look at the dead Boris down the hallway. "Was there any mention of a dead Boris in his stories?"

Jack nodded. "But there wasn't just one. And I will say this. It's been a long time since I've heard those stories. I might not remember them all right off the bat.

But if the stories happen to be true… we won't be able to escape from this place." Liam and Dewayne became pale. All the color started to drain out of their face.

"That's why I ran with that book. It needs to be destroyed. Anything left behind by my great grand uncle is not good news."

They stopped when the lights went out in the hallway. they heard a machine running. "What is that?" Dewayne asked. They heard something go splat.

They turned to look in the direction of Boris. Dewayne passed the Bendy cutout and went over to the dead Boris. His foot stepped in something squishy.

Liam and Jack joined him. Dewayne wiped his shoe on the floor. "There's ink here now." Liam and Jack slowly looked at the puddle.

"I'm having some bad Deja vu." Said Jack. "Me too. I stepped in a puddle like that just before we were kidnapped." Something black flew onto Jack's face.

He jumped back and wiped it off. "How'd this get on me?" Dewayne pointed at Boris. "It's coming out of him." All three boys looked at the dead wolf.

Sure enough, the ink was spewing out of Boris's chest and onto the puddle the boys were standing around. "Boris… has ink for blood?" Jack looked at them.

"Maybe we know a bit more about what we faced three nights ago." Dewayne answered. "And He only started doing this around the same time that humming started."

Jack and Liam looked at Dewayne surprised. "Humming? That sounds like a machine to me." Said Jack. "Did someone activate it?"

"If so then that machine turned on that same time Boris started leaking blood ink. But then-. Oh no. The girls!" Liam turned to run and he bolted back to the office.

Dewayne and Jack followed him. They ran into the girls at the office. "What's going on?" "I don't know. The items were gone when we got here and then..."

Isabella began to tell them but Ember cut her off. "The Machine turned on by itself. That big ink machine! We didn't go near it while you boys were talking."

"What about the book?" Jack asked. "I tripped over a chair and the book slid across the floor." Ember explained. "By the time we went to get it, it was gone."

Isabella added. Dewayne turned to the wall and pointed at a tape recorder on the wall. "Was this here before?" They all turned to it. Dewayne pressed the button.

'_At this point, I don't get what Joey's big plan is for this company. The animations sure aren't being __finished on time anymore. And I certainly don't see why we need _

_this machine. It's noisy. It's __messy. And who needs that much ink anyway? Also, get this. Joey had each one of us donate __something from our work station. We put _

_them on these little pedestals in the break room. To help __appease the gods, Joey says. Keep things going. I think he's lost his mind, but, hey, he writes __checks. But I'll _

_tell you what. If one more of these pipes bursts, I'm outta here.' _

"What the heck?" Dewayne asked. "Told you Joey was a lunatic." Said Jack. "Appease the gods? An ink machine?" Liam muttered. "There's a lot wrong with all this."

"Is there even a start as to how wrong it is?" Penelope turned towards him. "Have we already forgotten about the ink machine starting up with none of us being the

ones to pull it?" Ember asked. "Not all of us should check it out, the person might still be there." Said Liam.

"Agreed. I think maybe Liam and I should take a quick look at it." Said Dewayne. "I'll go too." Said Isabella. "Are you sure?" Ember asked.

"But what about your sister?" Penelope smiled. "I'm fine now. It was that… I couldn't stay there. In that room. But my sister will be fine.

She can handle herself, not to mention Dewayne will be with her. And Liam too." The three of them left and went on their way to the Ink Machine.

As they were approaching the end of a hallway when a cardboard Bendy poked it's head out to look at them causing them to stop. Then it disappeared.

Liam ran forward towards it and turned the corner. He stopped. When Dewayne and Isabella reached him, the cardboard Bendy was just resting at the wall.

Isabella looked at them both. "Did this thing move on it's own?" She asked. "I didn't see anybody else around." Liam said as he took another glance around then back

at Bendy. "It's strange. I didn't see much of him as a child, And now I'm starting to see him everywhere." Dewayne looked at him.

"You said earlier yesterday that you and he were like family. What did you mean by that?" Liam sighed. "I said that because… well. My great grandpa used to work

here." Dewayne and Isabella were surprised. Dewayne got over it. "So then, you know a bit of Joey's works like Jack does?" Liam nodded.

"So that's why your face went really pale when Jack confessed." Liam nodded again. "What did your ancestor do here?" Isabella asked. Liam looked at Bendy.

"We've been staring at him this whole time." Isabella and Dewayne followed his gaze at the cardboard cutout. "He… created Bendy?" Isabella asked.

"Yep. But his original design was rejected." Liam passed them and looked ahead. "Then Joey stole it. And brought forth the one some of us knew as kids."

He continued walking and they went after him. "Does Jack know?" Dewayne asked. "I doubt it. And it wouldn't matter if he did or not.

I don't need him to freak out over our ancestors' issues with each other. Besides. That was them. Not us." They returned to the room with the projector.

It turned on when they entered. The screen turned black and Bendy appeared dancing in place on the screen. They watched it a few a seconds.

"Liam? Do you know if this place is haunted? Or is it a bunch of parlor tricks?" Dewayne asked. "I can't really say. But I do know one thing.

Thirty years after he left the company. My ancestor returned by Joey's request. They discovered his body at his old desk."

"The Boris? And Your ancestor?" Isabella questioned. "That cannot be coincidental. Was Joey some kind of serial killer?" Liam shrugged.

"No idea. It's not like we can ask anyone else who used to work here. This place is ninety years old. I'd be surprised if any of them are still alive today."

They continued moving. They found the hallway that would take them to the ink machine but they stopped. The entrance to the room was blocked off.

"What?" He muttered. "That wasn't blocked off when we first arrived here." Said Isabella. "But who could have put these up in a manner of minutes?

The same person who started the ink machine?" Dewayne asked. "That doesn't make any sense. Someone took the items that we had,

turned on the machine and then boarded up the room to it?" Isabella questioned him. "So then we're dealing with… two people? Maybe?"

Dewayne was trying to process the possibilities. "Maybe one tried to turn on the machine, and someone else tried to trap them in there?" He suggested.

"Maybe. My question is, how did we not hear anything?" Said Liam. They both just realized Isabella was getting closer to the panels.

"Uh. Isa? I don't think that's a good idea." Liam told her. "I'm just checking." She whispered to him. She moved closer to the blocked wood.

Liam and Dewayne ran to her. Her hand just barely touched the wood when an inky figure popped out of the ground, like a clown does out of a jack-in-the-box.

In a swift movement it grabbed hold of her arm. She exclaimed in surprise and shock as she tried to back up from it.

"Isa!" Liam and Dewayne shouted and they both grabbed her and pulled away from it.

The hand lost it's grip on her, leaving an ink stain on her left arm. Liam looked at the figure. "What is that?" He looked at it more carefully.

"Bendy?" He asked surprised. The creature disappeared from view before he could get a better look at it.

They backed up from it only to notice the floor turning black, starting from the machine room. "Run! Run!" Dewayne yelled as all three of them turned and booked it

down the hallway. They all kept shouting as they saw the blackness chasing them. They ran back to the others who were shocked at all the ink covering the floor.

"What's going on?" Penelope asked. "No time!" Isabella shouted and grabbed her sister's hand as she passed her and pulled her along in the run.

"Go!" Liam shouted." They all ran trying to run away from the ink. They zoomed down all the hallways and corridors that rooms became a blur.

They weren't even sure where they could go. Penelope looked at her hand and noticed a black substance on her sister's arm. "Isa? What is... that on... your arm?"

She asked between gasps. "Something grabbed me. It's nothing serious but we have to leave this rotten place."

Suddenly, the floor underneath Isabella and Penelope gave out and they fell through the floor.


	7. A Near Fall to Death

Jack and Dewayne reached out and grabbed hold of Penelope's free arm. Penelope and Isabella held on for their dear life as they saw the wooden boards fall into the

black abyss below them. Isabella was sweating up a storm as her eyes started to get dizzy from the empty space down below. "Hang on, Isa!"

Penelope shouted to her sister as she tightened her grip on her. Isabella could not hear her sister. Even though she was within arms reach, to Isabella, her sister's

voice sounded miles away and her words were inaudible. Penelope tried to shake her sister's arm to get her attention. "Isabella! Look at me! Not down!"

Dewayne and Jack tried to pull them up but almost slipped on the ink. "We better not move. One slip and we'll all fall in that shaft." Jack instructed them.

Liam turned to Ember. "I'll hold onto you. I just need you to look over and tell me if there's any beams or something I can climb down on to help them out."

She nodded. She grabbed Liam's hand and leaned over the edge of the hole. "There's a lot of crossbeams. You probably can climb down there to help."

Ember reported. Liam pulled her back. Then Liam slowly approached the hole. The ink was slippery and he slid and fell into the hole, past Penelope and Isabella.

"Liam!" Ember cried. Liam grabbed hold of a beam and brought his feet to the one below him. "I'm fine!" He shouted to them. Penelope looked down towards him.

"Liam! Help! I'm losing my grip on her! Isabella can't stand heights, especially ones this high!" Penelope told him.

Liam nodded. "I'll help you. Just give me a moment." He looked at his shoes which were covered with ink.

_'The ink on my shoes will make me slip again. That won't be helpful to me or Isabella.'_ He carefully held onto the beam with one hand and used his other to untie his

shoe as he brought it up. "Just hold on a little longer, Pennie." He got one shoe off and then the other.

He moved away from the ink impressions his shoes left on the wood and then carefully sat on the beam. He carefully made his way to the other beam down below him.

He made his way to align himself with the others. He sat down again, and used his legs to wrap around the beam. "Pennie, I'm in position! You can let go of-!"

Penelope lost hold of Isabella. "NO!" She screamed as Isabella began falling down. Isabella, noticing the sudden jerk of gravity screamed also.

Liam reached out to her and grabbed hold of her arm. Isabella dangled against the beam below Liam. "Isa? Isabella!" He shouted her name to get her attention.

She snapped out of her trance and looked up at him. "Grab hold of the beam. I'm gonna pull you up to me, okay? Just focus on me." She nodded.

They both worked together to pull her up beside him. When she was safely next to him. She grabbed onto him, burying her face into his chest, and gripped his shirt

tightly. He could feel tears falling down her face even though she was not crying. He held onto her with one arm while using the other to hold onto the beam.

"It's alright now." He turned to shout up to the others. "She's still alive. Just really shaken up." "Liam. I think we need to go down that way."

Dewayne called down to him. "That thing isn't showing up but it might come back for us." "What thing?" Ember asked.

"We'll tell you later." Answered Dewayne as he and Jack hauled Penelope up out of the hole.

"Take your shoes off when you first get onto the beam. That way you don't slip and fall from the ink on your shoes." Liam told them.

Ember came down first. She did as Liam had suggested. After her, came Penelope when she was ready to tackle it. Then Dewayne and Jack.

When they caught up with Liam and Isabella, they stopped. "How far do you think it goes?" Jack asked.

"My shoes are up there near you. Drop one down and we'll count how many seconds it falls." Said Liam. Dewayne nodded and picked up the shoe.

He held it out while Jack and Ember held onto his belt to keep him from falling. "I'll count." Said Pennie. "Ready?" Dewayne asked. They nodded. "Yes." She answered.

"Start." He let go and the shoe dropped down. She counted one second when the shoe stopped. "So it's not that far." said Liam.

"We need to climb down, slow and easy." Said Jack. "Well. Our shoes can wait for us at the bottom." Said Dewayne.

He and Ember started dropping the shoes and the thuds echoes bounced back up to them until the last shoe reached the bottom. Liam turned to Isabella.

"Hey. Isa. We gotta keep moving okay? We'll go down together, okay? Just follow me and do what I do, alright?" He asked her.

She nodded. It was a long and slow climb, with a couple close calls but they kept each other from falling to their deaths.

Jack and Dewayne were the first ones to reach the bottom and they moved the shoes out of the way, then they waited.

They aided Penelope and Ember once they reached them. Liam carefully guided Isabella down to the bottom.

When they made it, she fell to her knees, thankful to feel ground under her feet again. They all sat down with her.

"Okay. What the heck happened? You three left to check on the ink machine because it was running. Then You come around the corner, yelling and screaming."

Ember relayed the events. "The machine room was boarded up." Dewayne told them. "Isabella went to take a look inside… and… This-this thing.

It came up from the ground and grabbed her arm. Liam and I managed to free her but then… ink was surrounding us. So we ran and got you guys.

You know the rest." "What thing? What did it look like?" Penelope asked. "It… looked like Bendy." Liam answered.

"Like that corpse looked like the character you called Boris?" Ember asked. "Bendy attacked you?" Penelope asked Isabella.

"I'm… I'm… I'm not… I'm not sure. I mean… it looked like him but…" "It looked like a twisted version of him." said Liam.

"You couldn't see his eyes. Ink was dripping down from his head… almost like he was injured or something." Said Liam. Penelope examined her sister's arm.

"He left this on you?" She asked. "I can handle the ink demon… But I do not want to go through that shaft experience again." Said Isabella.

"I almost got sick up there. I'm surprised I didn't." Penelope nodded. "I know." Jack looked at her. "What happened exactly?

Why didn't you speak when we were trying to talk to you?" Penelope looked at him. "She has acrophobia. She can't handle great heights,

especially when you can't see the ground." Penelope answered. "I got so dizzy up there, and Penelope… I couldn't hear her… not really." Said Isabella.

"It's okay, Isa. Your back on the ground now." Said Liam and he got up to examine the shoe pile.

"Hey. Liam. Good call in removing the shoes. We definitely would have slipped and-." Dewayne stopped and looked at Isabella then at Liam. "You know what I mean."

"We got something to tell you." Jack spoke up. "The Boris upstairs. He was leaking ink like it was his blood." Penelope stiffened. Isabella and Ember looked at him

surprised. "Do you think there's a connection to the things that kidnapped us and this place?" Ember questioned him. "It seems most likely." Said Dewayne.

"The Bendy we saw… he must have come out of the ink machine when it was activated." Liam told them. "But the big question is, who turned it on? It wasn't us."

Penelope replied. "The items all just vanished. And then something else turned on the ink machine." Ember looked at the boys. "There's one thing for sure.

The ink that attacked us at the movies and kidnapped us have a connection to place. They must." Said Liam.

"But why not bring us here in the first place then?" Ember asked. "What do you mean?" Dewayne asked her.

"The truck was taking us away from the city. Why do that and not just bring us here directly? They wouldn't have lost us and we wouldn't have had to run through the

woods for a day and a night in the first place." "Hmm. You bring up a good point Ember. If this really was our destination, why did they give us the runaround?"

Liam repeated. Jack stood up. "Unless this place wasn't our destination. They were probably trying to take us somewhere else.

And everything happened the way we knew it to. We ran here, trying to escape the kidnappers and we came in here. As far as we know.

They didn't chase us inside. But why is that? If they really were from here, then wouldn't they come back?" "Probably not." Dewayne answered. "If they were from

here and they had escaped… they might have had as much trouble as we are getting out. Would you seriously come back?" Jack shook his head.

"I didn't think so." Dewayne sighed. "While it's possible they may have come from here. I don't think that's the case." Said Liam.

"What makes you say that?" Jack asked. "They chased us here. They were desperate to get a hold of us after we got away. If they were from here, and they saw us

close to this area, don't you think they would have found us already? Taken us back to the truck we were in? And bringing us to their boss they were terrified of?"

Isabella nodded. "That is a good point. They would have checked here if that was the case." Liam turned to her. "Was there a logo or something on the side of the

machine?" She shrugged. "I didn't notice one. What are you thinking?" "Okay. Isa. In your opinion as a mechanic. Do you think an animation studio would be able to

build this kind of technology on their own?" She shook her head. "No. The animators normally specify in art. While they are usually required to know some technology,

that ink machine wouldn't have been their work." "Okay. But where would you say they got that ink machine from?" She shrugged.

"Who knows. They could have gone to another company for help. Or even hired someone to fix and build the machine for them." She answered.

"Another company? Could that be where we were heading?" Ember asked. "I guess we won't find out now. I'd rather not either.

But what still bothers me is why us six? I mean. I can sorta understand why they would have picked me and Jack. Our families had ties to this place.

But I can't say the same for the rest of you." Liam said as he grabbed his shoes and sat back down. Jack looked at Liam surprised.

"Wait. You knew someone who worked here?" Liam nodded. Jack pondered in thought. "Hmm. There was a Henry Stein who worked here at the start of the studio.

And on the dance team, there's a William Stein." Jack said. Liam nodded. "Yeah. That's me." Jack shook his head and laughed. "How did I miss this?

The Dancing Devil is related to the man who actually created the Bendy cartoon character. So what would Henry be to you?"

"My Great Grandpa." Liam answered him. "Maybe if we had a list of the old employees who did work here, maybe we'd be a step closer to this mystery."

Penelope suggested. Jack looked at her surprised. "I have a list. My grandma sent it to me in the same envelope as the key to this place.

It has names that were crossed out." Jack pulled it out, opened it and handed it to them. Dewayne and Ember were looking through it.

"Lacie Benton?" Ember read it out loud. "You know her?" Dewayne asked. Ember nodded. "On my mom's side of the family. Lacie Benton was a cousin to my Grandma.

She left her family after she went to work at a studio as an engineer. It was close to during the war. But that part of the family was always getting into fights.

I'm not surprised she cut off from them. It seems to be a family tradition, unfortunately." said Ember. "Well, I also know a Sammy Lawrence.

He's a distant relative to my father. I understand he was into music. He left to work at an animation studio but he was never heard from again." Said Dewayne.

Liam and Jack glanced at each other. "That makes four of us that are related to people who worked in this place." Said Jack. Isabella took the list. She and Penelope

looked it over. Then they both stopped to look at each other shocked. "You recognize a name?" Dewayne asked. "Not just one." Isabella said then they looked over at

them. "But two." Penelope told them. "Allison Pendle and Thomas Connor." "Two? How?" Ember asked. "Allison ended up voicing Alice Angel after the original voice

actress quit." Penelope told them. "Thomas Connor was a mechanic who worked for Gent originally then… he came here to do maintenance."

Isabella muttered as it dawned on her. She snapped her fingers and continued. "They both met here then started dating after they were let go from this company.

Thomas even invented the ink machine! My gosh! How did I not realize that before?" She slammed her hand on the ground then looked at Jack and Liam.

"He invented the ink machine for a Joey Drew but he was fired and his credibility stolen from him by-." "Joey. I know. I found out he stole stuff and that's why my

family hates him with a passion." Jack answered. "Though, I didn't know who all he stole from." Isabella shook her head and continued.

"Anyway, Thomas and Allison married, and lived on a farm." "And how do they tie to you?" Dewayne asked. "Thomas Conner. Isabella and Penelope Connor."

Isabella reminded them. "Their our father's grandparents. Or they would have been if they weren't killed suddenly." Said Penelope. "How?" Ember asked.

"A burglar broke in and Thomas and Allison were killed. There was a report of a machine stolen." Liam looked back to Jack. "You think Joey would kill to steal the

machine?" Jack shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him. Since Thomas actually built the machine, he had the right to claim his credit for it,

whether Joey cared about that or not. If he silenced them just so he wouldn't get a lawsuit for stealing, I wouldn't be surprised.

Heck, that could very well be the machine that was stolen up there." Jack pointed up at the ceiling. "Well, we all are connected to them and they were all tied to here.

Question is what did the ink creatures, who kidnapped us, want with us?" Dewayne asked. Liam got his shoes back on.

"Well. We won't know if we just sit here." He stood up. "The more ground we cover the more we'll find and hopefully, understand." Said Liam.

They nodded and all got their shoes on and started walking. They exited the room by a doorway on the left. They went to the right and walked down some stairs.

They passed a valve which connected to the pipes. "How deep does this place go?" Ember asked. "Who knows. I just hope there's another way out of here."

Said Penelope. They reached the end of the stairs and found a door at the end of the room. Isabella opened the door and they walked in slowly.

They found two barrels of ink. One standing upright, the other was broken on the floor next to it. On the wall they found writing. "The creator lied to us."

Dewayne repeated. "Doubtless it's talking about Joey." Said Jack. "Hey. there's an axe over here." They turned to see the axe mounted on the other wall.

"Huh. Why couldn't we have had this earlier? We could have chopped down that stupid door to start with." Said Jack. Dewayne pulled the axe off of the mount.

"I think this is where we go to get out. The boards have the doorway blocked off." Said Isabella. Dewayne handed the axe to Jack. "You wanna work off some

frustration?" Jack accepted and went at the boards obstructing the path. He took down the boards with the axe. He opened the door and took down a second blockage

before they could finally go through. Ember tapped Jack on his shoulder. "Your not quite done yet." She pointed at a door that was covered with wooden planks.

"Stay back." Jack walked over to the door and chopped the boards. They opened the door and stopped where they were at. They saw a pentagram made from ink,

with lit candles surrounding it. "This is not good." Said Jack. "Should we go back?" Penelope asked. "I'd say so. Upside down pentagrams usually involve witchcraft."

Said Dewayne. Liam nodded. "Yeah. I'd rather face the ink demon than attempt walking over that." "Let's head back then." Said Ember.

They all tried to back away and Jack closed the door. "I regret chopping up those boards now." Said Jack. He turned around to find himself alone.

He assumed the other ran ahead of him back up the stairs but before he tried to chase after them, he felt something hit him on the head.

Jack fell to the ground and passed out.


	8. The Path Sinks Deeper

Jack woke up along and saw the others unconscious. He looked down to see they were on the pentagram. Panicked, he tried to get up as strange flashes of images

passed through his mind. He shook them out and crawled over to Ember and shook her awake. "Amber-? No. Ember! Wake up. Em?"

She groaned as she began stirring. He pulled her up by her arm and dragged her out of the pentagram. While she was trying to wake up, he went over to the others.

"Dewayne! Liam! Wake up darn you." He shook them both violently. Liam immediately clapped his hands over his ears. "So…. Loud. Ugh." "Get up! Quickly!"

Jack urged him, as he grabbed Liam's legs and dragged him out. "Ugh. What happened?" Liam wondered.

Dewayne managed to stand on his feet then he noticed what they were laying on. "Oh God. Have mercy!" "Dewayne! Help me get the twins out." said Jack as he

picked up Penelope. Dewayne nodded and pulled Isabella out of the pentagram. "How did we even get in there?" Dewayne asked.

"I thought you guys ran off and left me, then something hit me on my head. It still pounds." Ember looked at them. "I remember something grabbed me and next

thing I knew, I was out." "Well. I guess we got out before any real damage was done." Said Jack. "Maybe. I hope." Said Liam.

Dewayne noticed the coffins in the room. "I don't think our friends were as lucky." He pointed to the coffins. Everyone that was still conscious suddenly sobered up.

"Are those-?" Ember questioned. "Yep." Jack confirmed. "My question is, were they for us? Or is someone else in them already?" Liam asked.

"I think I'd rather not stick around here to find out." Said Dewayne. "Yeah. Let's get going." Said Ember. They stood up. Isabella and Penelope were starting to wake

up. "Should we wait until-?" Ember did not finish her question as Liam helped Isabella get onto his back. Dewayne did the same for Penelope.

"We can't wait around for whoever attacked us to come back. We need to move." Said Dewayne. Jack saw the axe still outside them room.

He grabbed it and went to the other door, avoiding the pentagram. "The law of equivalent exchange doesn't work here." Said Jack as he used the axe to cut off the

boards from the blocked door. "I didn't know you watched Fullmetal Alchemist." Said Liam. Jack shrugged as he opened the door to find more stairs.

"Come on." He told them. The others followed him. Penelope ended up nuzzling Dewayne's neck in her sleep. "Ah! Okay, that tickled. I guess they're alright."

"They probably will be once we get out of here." Said Liam, as he felt Isabella's arms tighten a bit around his neck.

Jack stopped them when a board fell down in front of him. "Glad to know I wasn't the only one the board tried to get." Said Ember.

On the wall at the bottom they found another Bendy sticker with writing beside him. "He will set us free?" Liam read it. "Do they mean Bendy?" He asked.

"My question is set who free? Who's trapped here?" Ember asked. Isabella groaned behind Liam. "Hey, Isa? You okay?" Liam asked. She slowly opened her eyes.

"Where are we? What happened?" "We'll tell ya later." Jack said. Ember grabbed two cans. There's more bacon soup here?" Everyone's stomachs could be heard

rumbling. "We still didn't have anything to eat this entire time." Said Liam. "Grab them. Let's find a place to sit down and eat." Said Dewayne.

Jack and Ember picked up the bacon soup then Jack slowly turned to Dewayne. "Hang on. Are you able to eat this?" He asked Dewayne.

"It is Bacon soup." Dewayne caught onto his question. "You mean because I'm one quarter Israeli? Come on man." Dewayne replied.

"I was just checking. I know they have issues with their meat being done a certain way." "Okay, I'll level with you, my favorite food is a double bacon cheese burger.

I probably would have upset whatever family my mama did have but at this point I don't care. I've already slept inside a freaking pentagram and that's worse than

eating bacon in their eyes… maybe." Jack nodded. "Point taken. Sorry I asked." Said Jack. "Um. Dewayne. You can put me down now." They hear Penelope say.

Dewayne carefully set her down. "I didn't know you were awake." "It was a slow process but y'all kept talking so that made it harder to sleep." Said Penelope.

Isabella slid off Liam's back. "I'm good now." Ember found another can of bacon soup. They walked over to another shelve with another recording.

"Hello? What's this one got to say?" Isabella pressed play.

'_He appears from the shadows, to reign his sweet blessings upon me. The figure of ink that shines in the darkness. I see you. My savior. I pray you hear me. _

_Those old songs. Yes. I still sing them. For I know you are coming to save me. And I will be swept into your final loving embrace. But love requires sacrifice. _

_Can I get an amen?'_

The recording stopped but they heard the voice from the recording still speaking. "I said. Can I get an amen?" They all looked around not seeing anyone there aside

from each other. "Well… that was a thing." said Jack. "What kind of recording is this?" Penelope asked. "If it wasn't for _'The figure of ink'_ in there.

I would have thought this was a sermon." Said Dewayne. "I am too freaked out right now." said Ember. Liam and Isabella were still looking around.

"We all heard him, right? Like he was right here with us?" Liam asked. "Uh-huh." Penelope nodded. Isabella jumped back. "Oh no! There's a pentagram in here with

coffins!" "There's more!?" Jack exclaimed. "More?!" Isabella and Penelope chimed in unison. Liam looked at it with the others.

"Yeah. There's more of them" "Is the guy who made this recording the one responsible for the pentagrams?" Asked Ember. "And the coffins?" Jack pitched in.

"He did say something about sacrifice." Said Dewayne. "Maybe he's also responsible for the Boris upstairs." Ember held the bacon soup tightly.

"Let's just get out of here." They turned to the right and found a Bendy cardboard in front of a pentagram. "Oh man! I thought we were free of those things!"

Jack shouted! "The little guy gets around." Said Ember. Jack grabbed the axe. "Well, not this time!" He used the axe on the Bendy cardboard and cut him to pieces.

"Ah! Take that you little demon!" Said Jack. "Oh no!" Dewayne exclaimed. "Is he gonna summon the creature again by cutting up the board?"

Isabella wondered in fright as she and the others were looking around to see if anyone would show up.

So far no one. Jack turned towards them, while they were still looking in other directions. "It's just cardboard. It's not like I'm actually hurting it." Said Jack.

"Maybe. But maybe next time." Dewayne turned to face him. You shouldn't get so hog wild with the-!" Dewayne gasped in shock.

Jack turned to where Dewayne was looking at and was flabbergasted. "Guys! I chopped that down, didn't I?" They all turned to look.

Astonishment spread over everyone's face as the cardboard Bendy was already whole. As if Jack had never used the axe on him to begin with.

"I-. He-. Y-you chopped him into pieces." Said Dewayne. Ember raised her arms in the air, dropping the bacon soup. "That's it! My mind just broke!

I'm done! Done I say! That's it! It's over! I'm outta here!" Said Ember as she passed them and Bendy and went down the hallway to the right.

They followed her, though Jack was walking backwards, worried the cardboard would attack him if his back was turned.

Ember stopped at the doorway and the others caught up. "Is there no end to this ink?" Ember asked. They looked and saw the floor was covered with the ink.

"My gosh. I'm an artist and I'm starting to get sick of seeing it everywhere." Said Penelope. "It looks like the only way to continue is to go through." Said Dewayne.

"Through the ink?" Jack asked. "What if the creature you guys saw comes back?" "We don't all have to go at the same time." said Penelope.

"So then who's going in first?" Ember asked. Most of them turned towards Isabella. "Are you kidding me?" She asked.

They heard a small splash and saw Liam went on into the ink. It was up pass his knees. "Well. I'm not drowning in it so far."

He took a few difficult steps forwards. "How's the water friend?" Jack asked. "Horrible. I never thought ink could be so cold!" Liam shouted.

Isabella jumped down, shivered from the ink and followed him. Penelope went after her sister. Dewayne and Jack went behind her.

Ember hesitated then looked back in the direction of the Bendy cutout. She sighed then jumped in after them. "O! M! G! This is very cold!" She shouted.

Liam was coming close to the end when he saw a figure walk by the doorway. "Hey!" He cried. "You there!" He tried to hurry and catch up with him.

"Liam?" Isabella called out to him. Liam reached the other side and tried to follow the mysterious figure. He came to another hallway with another pentagram and

bendy cardboard standing where he figure should have been. "Where'd he go?" Liam wondered. The others finally caught up to him.

"Why'd you run off like that?" Ember asked. "I saw someone. He was right here. I followed him from the hallway and then-." His voice trailed off.

"Then he disappeared." Jack glared at the cardboard. "Long time, no see. Bendy." "Hey. There's more bacon soup." said Penelope.

"Shelves of it." Said Ember. "I guess this is as good a place as any to take a break and eat." Dewayne suggested.

Their stomachs growling vibrated loud enough to where they all started hunching over. "I think we have little choice in the matter.

If I take another step, I think I'll pass out from hunger." Jack admitted. They all sat down and each took a can of the bacon soup.

They ate the cans goods, and sat around, enjoying their breather. They did not realize how hungry they originally were until they took a bite.

It was not the best thing they ever had but days of hunger had taken enough on a toll on them, that they thought they would cry from tasting food.

"I never thought food in a can could taste so good." Said Jack. Ember looked around the room. "Does anyone how long we've even been down here?"

Dewayne looked at her. "Um. Let's see. The night of the movie." He started counting on his hand. "The night in the woods. Then the first night we spent here.

That's three nights away. Plus, we don't know how long we were out earlier." "Our parents must be going out of their minds." said Ember. "You mean those who

actually have parents." Said Dewayne. They looked at him. "Oh yeah. You said you lived with your martial arts teacher." Dewayne nodded.

"Yeah. I lost my dad before I was even born. And then my mom when I was five." Dewayne looked at the can of bacon soup in his hand.

"Your not the only orphan here. Pennie and I lost our dad in the line of duty. He was in the navy and his ship went down at sea.

Our mom died of cancer when we were ten." Isabella explained. "We're lived with our uncle and cousin afterwards." Penelope chimed in.

Isabella looked at her sister surprised then just stared at the can of soup in her hand with a solemn look on her face. "At least you guys had your parents.

My mom dumped me on my father's doorstep. I never even knew her." Ember told them. "Ouch. That bites." Said Jack.

"Yeah. And that's why I hate it when people mix my name up." She said. "Why is that?" Dewayne asked. "I was named after my mom and my grandma.

Their names were combined. Dad's mom's name was Emma. My mom's name was Amber." "Emma? Amber? Ember. Huh. That's actually pretty interesting."

Said Dewayne. She sighed. "Anyways. I don't see my dad much. I'm usually staying with my aunt and cousin. I guess you could say I count them more like my family

than I do my dad. I get he's helping with a business and all that. But still. It would have been nice if he had actually tried to be like a father to me." Jack sighed.

"I also have a father who just ignores me. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't care if he never saw me again." "Really, Jack? You?" Ember asked surprised.

Jack nodded. "To be honest, Ember. At least your dad doesn't work at home and ignore you when your in the same room. My Dad just acts like I don't exist.

My mom cares about me and she keeps insisting my dad loves me too. But I highly doubt it." Jack said as he took another sip of the bacon soup.

"You said you have a brother. At least you two must get along right?" Penelope asked him. Jack took another sip and sighed again.

"Correction… I _had_ a brother." They looked at him surprised. "He was older than me and he was more of my Dad's favorite, while I was an accident.

But Zayne could be an irritating pain in the butt. Half the time, it felt like he was giving me the cold shoulder and other times he tried comforting me when Dad

missed… anything to do with me. Which, mind you, was all the time." Jack explained. Ember looked at her bacon soup then back at him.

"What happened to him?" She asked. Jack sighed and put down the soup. "He got his learners license. And one day, he wanted to go drive without a parent to

supervise. And he convinced me into the car with him." Jack moved the axe over, away from him. "We were on a simple dirt road,

he was driving without his seat belt on, while I was buckled up. A truck tried to illegally pass another car and he wound up in our lane.

My brother couldn't avoid him, so we crashed and ended up in a ditch… woke up six months later, I had turned eleven and missed my birthday during that time…

I was still alive… but… my brother wasn't." They all looked at their soup, not sure how to feel. They could not determine if they lost their appetite or if they where still

starving. "I'm… really sorry, Jack." Said Ember. "Yeah. Me too. I've actually never told anyone else about this before. I mean, this happened just before we moved and

I ended up at the middle school in our town. I'm pretty sure though, my father blames me for what happened. He's never spoken to me since I woke up.

Except for one thing." He grabbed the soup and started chugging away at it. They took that as Jack's sign letting them know he did not want to continue.

Isabella cleared her throat and looked at Liam. "What about you, Liam?" Liam took another sip of his bacon soup then looked at them. "Fortunately. I don't have as

bad as a sob story like the rest of you do. I mean, my parents are divorced, I live with my dad. My little sister, Tess lives with Ravyn, the woman who was my Mom.

And our parents still give shared custody to each other. Ravyn was gonna get me when we returned from the trip. I was gonna finally see my sister one more time…

before…" His voice trailed off and he looked at his soup. Jack raised his eyebrow. He set down his soup again and watched Liam. "Before what?" He asked. Liam stood

up. "I'd… I'd rather not talk about that yet. Besides. We've got a lot to deal with when we press on." They nodded and stood up.

They went to the end of the hall and found a garage door. "It seems we need to find the switches for this thing."

"There was a switch by the shelves of Bacon Soup." "The other one must be back past the ink." Said Dewayne.

"I'll press this one." Said Ember as she went back to the shelf and pushed the button. She saw a light turn on. Liam and Jack passed her.

"We'll go find the others." Jack told her as he set the axe to rest on his shoulder. "Got it." She went back to the others.

Liam and Jack waded back through the inky hallway and reached the other side. "What's wrong with your sister?" Jack asked him randomly.

Liam looked at him confused. "Excuse me?" "That look in your eye. I could see the sadness in them. You were looking forward to seeing her before something else.

But you never said what it was." Liam sighed. "She's sick. That's all I'm saying. I just wanted to be there for her. Ya know?" Jack nodded.

"Yeah. I know. But hey. If you ever need to talk…" They reached the first Bendy and pentagram when Liam looked at him.

"You are one of the most confusing people I know." Jack's eyebrow went up. "What do you mean?" "You hang with the people who hate me.

You made it very clear at school, you hated me too. And yet, in here, your being very understanding. Supportive. Traits I've never seen in you when we're at school.

You don't even support your companions, the popular bullies." Jack grumbled for a second. "Well, I guess it's because I understand you more as a person now.

Besides. I don't always hang with them by choice. Sometimes, they just follow me around. As for me hating you… I did. I hated how you seemed to know everything

and you could bend the rules like they did and you wouldn't get caught or in trouble. None of us were able to outwit you, man. And that's why you seemed so

irritating." Jack explained. Liam looked skeptical. "Is that really all?" He asked. Jack sighed. "No." Liam sighed. "If you really mean it, about what you said.

About me being able to come to you about stuff, you have to be honest with me too. It's not just a one way street." Said Liam. Jack shrugged. "I mean, at least, that's

how it seemed at the time. But I guess… maybe I was jealous because I envied your life." Liam gave him a confused look. "Why? My family's in shambles too."

"Yeah, well you have a Dad who actually cares about you. One who hugs you when you leave. One who drives you to school. I don't got that. I never did.

Your Dad doesn't wish…." He sighed deeply. "Your Dad… doesn't wish… you died in that car crash in place of your brother." Jack struggled with his wording.

Realization hit Liam. "That's the one thing your Dad said to you after you woke up?" Jack put the axe down on the floor. "…Yeah. I heard him say it… right to my face.

Plain and simple." Liam sighed. "That definitely explains a lot." Jack nodded. "Yeah… So I guess what I'm saying is… I'm sorry for that day when we all gained up on

you and beat you up. That was the day… My dad had said that stuff to me… and I wound up taking it out on you. I shouldn't have done that." Liam nodded.

"Well, I got you back. I did break your nose in return for the bruises." "Yeah… but it didn't help matters though. I saw those bandages on your arm and at your neck.

We didn't give those to ya." Liam shook his head. "Nope. You didn't. I gave those to myself." Jack sighed again. "I figured. After all, it was noted in your Dad's angered

tone what probably did happen." Liam started moving again. "I guess Carter had used me as his punching bag so much, it wiped that part out of my memory."

Jack was surprised. "I remember you insulted him to a degree he beat the tar out of you. And you did that just when he was going too far one the new kid that year."

"If I hadn't, he probably would have gone to the hospital like I did. But I do remember you tried to stop him when I was about to pass out."

"Yeah. I ended up banging my head on the brick wall that summer. I hated myself for being mixed up in all that. I was really stupid back then. But I'm glad he was

expelled for what happened." Liam looked ahead. "Enough about the past for now. We got those switches to find." Jack shook his head and smiled.

"You just know how to dodge an awkward moment, don't you?" "I don't know, your still there, aren't ya?" Liam asked, looking over his shoulder with a smirk.

Jack laughed. They passed the first pentagram with cardboard Bendy and went back to the room with the second pentagram and coffins.

They found the table with the Bendy sticker and lit candles. "There's the other switch." Said Jack as he pressed it. "I think there's just one more left." Said Liam.

He walked over to the jukebox and pressed the switch button on it. "Let's head back." They both crossed the ink and rejoined the others.

"All switches accounted for." Said Jack. "Good." Said Dewayne as he reached for the lever and pulled it. The garage door moved up.

When it was completely up, they heard a loud gasp or groaning from somewhere. "That's not creepy at all." Said Ember.

They passed the garage door and Jack had to chop some boards covering the doorway. Beyond it was a room with a sign that read "Music Department."

With music records decorated on it. Next to it was another tape recording. Dewayne pressed it.

'_So first, Joey installs this ink machine over our heads. Then it begins to leak. Three times last month. We couldn't even get out of our department because the ink had_

_ flooded the stairwell. Joey's solution? An ink pump to drain it periodically. Now I have this ugly pump switch right in my office. People in and out all day. Thanks, Joey._

_ Just what I needed. More distractions. These stupid cartoon songs don't write themselves, you know.'_

They looked at each other. "That sounded like the same voice in the last one." Said Dewayne. "The one that sounded like a sermon?"

"There is a clear difference between these two recordings. This guy sounds sane right here. But further back. I don't know. He sounded… wrong."

Jack added in. "But he wrote the songs? Dewayne. Who did you say worked at a studio with an interest in music?" Liam asked. "Sammy Lawrence." Dewayne

answered. "And Sammy was on the list of people my grandma sent me." Jack reminded them. "So is it possible this guy we're hearing is Sammy Lawrence?"

Isabella asked. "Maybe? I don't know." Said Dewayne. "My family didn't have much to say on him. He was a distant relative after all.

And even then, He never returned after he joined up here. So I really don't know what to say. Although, going by what's here and what's in the other log…

it sounded like he became brainwashed or something. He definitely doesn't sound like a cultist psychopathic pope who worships ink demons right here."

"That's quite a description for it." said Ember. Dewayne looked at her and shrugged. "What would you call it?"

"Mine wouldn't be as creative as yours." She replied.

"Or as colorful."


	9. Dragged into the Inky Depths

Liam, Ember, Isabella and the other pasted a picture of Bendy on the wall with an umbrella. He was covered in ink splats. They entered the doorway he was facing.

They found a door. Beside it was an easel with a music sheet of it. "The Lighter Side… of Hell?" Liam read the lyrics. "Man. I don't even remember that song."

Said Isabella. "Maybe they didn't get to put it in." Penelope suggested. "Thank goodness for that then." Said Dewayne.

"That's definitely not a song for kids to hear." They opened the door. They found a room with musical instruments, and a white screen on the wall behind them.

"Hey. There's a recording booth here." Penelope pointed. "Wow. I wonder if it still works even." Said Dewayne.

"Your the one who's studying music. You'd be the one to know." Said Liam. "Don't be modest, Liam. You've helped out with the guitar a few times."

Dewayne replied. "Only because you were sick that one time. I could use better practice with it. But dancing is more my talent."

Liam saw a tape recorder on the floor next to the recording booth. He leaned down and pressed play.

'_It may only be my second month working for Joey Drew. But I can already tell I'm going to love it here! People really seem to enjoy my Alice Angel voice. _

_Sammy says she may be as popular as Bendy some day. These past few weeks, I have voiced everything from talking chairs to dancing chickens. _

_But this is the first character I really felt a connection with. Like she's a part of me. Alice and I, we are going places.'_

"Isabella? Is that your great grandma?" She shook her head. "Alice was already created and had another voice actress before she ended up with the role.

This might be that woman." Isabella relied. Dewayne was looking up at the projector room."I gotta try out that booth. Come on Liam." Said Dewayne.

Liam followed after Dewayne. Penelope decided to go with them. The three of them went back to the room with the stairs.

"There's gotta be a way to get into that sound booth." Said Dewayne. Penelope tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to an open door.

"Would that be it?" He went over to it and peeked inside. "Maybe. Let's look." They went through into another room and found the Alice Angel poster.

"Sent from above?" Dewayne asked. "Alice Angel was kinda portrayed as a half angel, half Demon." Said Penelope.

Dewayne looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "There's no half. She's either an angel or a demon. And since demons in fact are fallen angels to start with,

I'm not sure what I think about this character." Said Dewayne. "Hey guys." Liam called to them. He pointed to some stairs behind a cardboard Bendy.

"The little devil darlin' showed us the way to the recording booth." All three of them walked up inside it.

"Man. I wanted to be able to build me a studio to record my own music." Said Dewayne. "That's your dream come true?" Penelope asked.

Dewayne noticed a Bendy cardboard through the glass. "Well, minus all the Bendy cutouts around." Dewayne answered.

"Guys. There's another recording." Said Liam. Penelope pressed the button.

'_Every day the same strange thing happened. I'll be up here in my booth, the band will be swinging and suddenly, Sammy Lawrence just comes marching in and shut_

_ the whole thing down. Tells us all to wait in the hall. Then I hear him. He starts up my projector and he dashes from the projector down to the recording studio like the_

_ little devil himself was chasing behind. Few seconds later, the projector turns off. But Sammy, he don't come out for a long time. _

_This man is weird. Crazy weird. I have half a mind to talk to Mr. Drew about all this. But then again, I have to admit. Mr. Drew has his own peculiarities.' _

Liam looked back at the door and jumped. "My gosh! I wish they would stop showing up." They followed his gaze and saw a worn Bendy face over the door post.

"That's… unsettling." "Um. Can we go now?" Penelope asked. "Yeah. Though I'm curious what that recording said. Sammy turned on the projector.

Then went into the room." said Dewayne. "Dewayne? What are you thinking?" "Maybe, if we do this… just maybe… we'll get some sort of answer." Dewayne replied.

"But from what?" Penelope asked. "I don't know. You stay here. And I'll check it out. Liam. When you see me in the room, turn the thing on."

Liam felt goosebumps on his arm as a shiver went up his spine. "I don't know about this, Dewayne." "The others are in there." Penelope pointed out.

"So we'll go together." Said Liam. He turned on the projection and they left the room. They charged down the stairs and run back to the room where the others were.

They skidded on the floor when the other saw them. "What did you guys do?" Ember asked them. Isabella shushed her and watched the screen.

It was just blank. She clapped her hands. "Nothings happening." Jack walked over to the cello and fiddled with it's strings. Ember looked at him.

"What are you doing?" "Nothing much. Just checking the strings." Said Jack.

He looked at the drum and slowly walked over to it. He pat it when the projection turned off. "Whoa!" They all jumped.

Jack looked at the instruments in amazement. "I think one of the story bits came back to me. Play a tune and the way shall be revealed to you.

Instruments played in a specific order while the light of the projector shines down." Jack spoke to himself.

"Please say we don't have to play the Lighter Side of Hell." Said Isabella.

"Maybe. I'll go grab that sheet." said Ember as she walked off. Liam walked over to the piano, he started humming a song. Dewayne looked at him. "Liam?"

Liam looked at him. "Sorry. Got lost in thought." Ember returned with the sheet and handed it to Dewayne. "Here you are Music boy."

"I'll need time to look over it. By the way, Liam. Can you sing while I do? I need some music while I think this through." Dewayne said.

"What song do you want me to do?" Liam asked. "Any song. You pick." Said Dewayne as he sat down in a chair. "Brothers? By Vic Mignogna?"Liam asked.

Dewayne examined the sheet. "Don't matter." Liam sighed. He put his hands in his pocket and felt something in them. He pulled out his iPod.

He turned it on and played the song. The music started playing from it and he waited until it was time for him to sing.

"_How can I repay you, brother mine?_

_How can I expect you to forgive?_

_Clinging to the past, I shed our blood,_

_And shattered your chance to live._

_Though I knew the laws, I paid no heed._

_How can I return your wasted breath?_

_What I did not know has cost you dear,_

_For there is no cure for death._

_Beautiful mother, Soft and sweet._

_Once you were gone, we were not complete._

_Back through the years, we reached for you._

_Alas Twas not meant to be._

_And how can I make amends? _

_For all that I took from you?_

_I lead you with hopeless dreams._

_My brother I was a fool."_

His voice had started soft but gradually became louder. Each note was crisp and clear as his emotions rang out with each word.

The others were somewhat surprised, while Dewayne was just focusing on the sheet. He had heard Liam's singing before, hence why he had asked him to sing.

Jack had to sit down as he felt his eyes grow watery. The song was really hit him home but it was in a semi sweet, yet sad way.

Ember could not hold back her tears but she kept quiet, while Penelope hugged her sister as they all listened. Liam waited while the instrumental break played

through, then he continued.

"_Don't cry for the past now, brother mine._

_Neither you nor I are free from blame._

_Nothing can erase the things we did,_

_for the path we took was the same._

_Beautiful mother, Soft and sweet._

_Once you were gone, we were not complete._

_Back through the years, we reached for you._

_Alas Twas not meant to be._

_My dreams made me blind and mute._

_I long to return to that time. _

_I followed without a word._

_My brother, the fault is mine._

_So where do we go from here?_

_And how to forget and forgive?_

_What's gone is forever lost._

_Now all we can do is live." _

Dewayne clapped when Liam finished. "Awesome as always, my friend."

Jack wiped his eyes. "Man… you hit me in the feels. What song is that?"

"It was a song written and sung by Vic Mignogna. He was the English voice actor for Edward Elric, in Full Metal Alchemist.

The song is based off of that anime I believe." Liam explained. "Whoa. So even the voice actors get inspired by the characters they play." Jack realized.

"Anyway, Dewayne. What'd that sheet tell you?" "Absolutely nothing." He threw the paper behind him. The others looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious?" Penelope asked him. "It wasn't even finished. I realized that when Liam was halfway through the song… So I just sat there and let Liam's voice melt

my frustration away." Liam shook his head. "My voice isn't that powerful, man." "It was for me. After all, you did say you wanted to be in musicals one day,

so it makes sense for you to know how to dance and sing. And trust me. You'd melt some hearts along the way." Said Dewayne.

Liam chuckled and said "Well, I'd better have a great composer, like you to help out. I'm more used to singing to your music." Dewayne smirked.

"Flatterer, you." He stood up. "Anyway, we'd better keep going." "Yeah." said Jack as he got off his seat. They left the room and went back to the other room.

They saw two doorways. "So we can in through this way." Dewayne pointed to the first doorway. "Let's check out the other one."

They all walked to it and found some stairs. They started to walk down but stopped. "The stairwell's flooded with ink." Said Ember.

"Should we try wading through it again?" Jack suggested. "And drown in ink? I don't think so." Said Isabella.

"One of the recording mentioned a pump switch. If we find that and press it, maybe we can keep going." Said Liam.

"There's a power switch." Said Isabella and she pressed it. They heard some gears moving somewhere then it stopped.

"Guess we better keep looking." Said Liam as he and the others turned around.

Suddenly, Ember fell and screamed. They turned to see her being dragged by the ink towards the river. Jack ran down there and grabbed her hand.

"Hold on, Ember!" "Don't let go, no matter what!" She screamed with panic. The ink had wrapped itself around her legs and kept crawling up her body.

"No!" She screamed. Dewayne and Liam rushed down to help Jack. Liam grabbed hold of her waist, while Dewayne grabbed her other arm.

Isabella and Penelope both grabbed hold of Dewayne and Jack to help steady them and prevent them from falling as they tugged on Ember.

"Uh! I'm not a tug o' war rope! Let go of me you freaky ink!" She screamed at the black stuff that continued to ensnare her.

It even wrapped around Liam's arms when it reached her waist. "Liam, let go! Or it'll take you too!" "I'm not letting go, Ember!"

A tentacle rose up from the ink and whacked all three boys in the faces and knocked them back.

Though the ink still had a hold of Liam so it started to drag him down along with Ember. "NO! Ember!" Penelope cried. "Liam!" Isabella shouted.

Dewayne got up and jumped the stairs and grabbed Liam's waist. Ember screamed as the ink was up to her shoulders and she sank down into it.

"NO!" Jack shouted. Dewayne struggled keeping a grip on Liam. "The Axe! Someone! The Axe!"

Liam tried to yank his wrists out of the ink but they had wrapped around him like chains. Isabella grabbed the axe from where Jack had dropped it.

She ran down next to Dewayne and Liam, held the axe over her head and brought it down, severing the ink.

The ink recoiled back into the river and Dewayne and Liam fell back into the stairs. Isabella looked at the ink as it seemed to be coming back for round two.

"Run! Run!" She shouted as she ran up the stairs. Liam and Dewayne followed her, while Penelope was pulling Jack through the doorway.

Isabella got up there and helped her sister to drag Jack away. Dewayne got out followed by Liam. As soon as they got into the Music Department room,

the ink turned away and gave up it's pursuit. They all collapsed on the ground, panting. Penelope pulled out her inhaler and used it real quick.

"What the heck just happened?" Dewayne exclaimed. "It was like a repeat of what happened to us at the movies." Said Isabella.

They looked at Jack who did not say anything. He had moved to the corner with his knees up to his chin. "Not again… why is everyone I care about dying around me?

Why again?" He muttered to himself.

"Jack?" Penelope tried to get his attention. Jack just looked at his hands. "I wasn't strong enough… to hold onto her. She just… slipped out of my hands."

Jack's voice broke as he started weeping. "She's gone now… because of me." Dewayne put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "We don't know that for sure.

The ink creatures didn't killed us the first time we were captured. Maybe it needs us alive for something." "Even so, Ink is very toxic to humans, don't forget that.

We can't even be sure if the ink here needs us for the same reason that our kidnappers did." Said Isabella. Liam sat down next to Jack.

"There might still be a chance to save her. But we can't just sit here and mope about losing her. Do you know what Ember would do if she saw you just sitting here?"

Jack looked at Liam. "She'd kick my hard behind into the ink river." Jack replied. "Or in a coffin because we did nothing to try and save her. So we can't just sit here.

We gotta keep looking. If we can drain the ink, maybe she'll be saved." Said Liam. Jack jumped to his feet. "Let's look for that switch!" He ran off in one direction.

"Someone go with him. We'll check in another area!" Said Dewayne and he and Liam ran in another direction. Penelope went after Jack.

Isabella was about to follow but she thought she heard something from a door way. She went up the stairs and found the projector room.

She listened to the same recording and saw on the side, a label. "Norman Polk?" She read. She looked through the window and saw two Bendy cardboards.

"You two again?" She sighed. "I don't have time for this. I need to find that pump switch." Said Isabella. She returned to the Music Department when a creature sprang

out of the ink and crawled towards her. She screamed and gripped the axe hard. She used it to whack him. Eventually, it stopped and sank into the ink.

"What the heck-? Those things really had to have come from here." She whispered, her voice shaking. She ran after Jack and Penelope.

She found them in the room with the instruments. "Guys. Some creepy ink things just attacked me." She told them when she caught up. "Are you okay?"

Penelope asked her. "Yeah. They spouted out of the ink puddles by the Music Department sign." "Well, there's no switch in here. Let's hope Liam and Dewayne found

it." Said Jack as he took the axe from Isabella. "I'm going to work some frustration off." The girls followed him. He walked up to the music sign and more of the ink

creatures popped up and crawled at them. Penelope screamed and Isabella pushed her behind her. Jack used the axe effectively and killed the ink things.

They melted away into the puddles. They heard music playing and Jack turned to look around. Isabella pointed. "There." A garage door rolled up to reveal a hallway.

"What should we do?" Penelope asked. "We better check it. Maybe the switch is here." Jack said as he ran down the hallway.

Isabella tried the first door in that hallway and saw an organ piano in it. She quickly scanned the room. "I'll check in here for the switch." She said as she entered.

Jack and Penelope kept going. She quickly looked around and tested the organ. The keys still played. Not finding a switch she turned around and left the room.

She saw that across from the room was another hallway with a couple of boards and barrels blocking the way. She looked by them to see a chair with a light flashing

on it in the distance. She saw a puddle underneath the chair. After her last experience, she'd rather try it with the axe in her hand so she headed to the area where

Jack and Penelope went down. She saw a door and another Cardboard Bendy just sitting there at the end of the hallway.

She decided to try this door and it opened. She pasted a strange picture and went further into the room. She found Jack and Penelope examining two drawing desks.

She checked around the room as well. "Nothing." She said. "One of the audio logs said that the pump switch was in the guy's office." Said Penelope.

"Which audio log?" Jack asked. "The one that Dewayne thinks is Sammy Lawrence." She said. "So we need to find a room with pipes around." She Said.

They left and went toward Bendy. "There's a door blocked up with ink." Said Penelope. Jack turned toward the door across from the one the girls looked at.

"Closet?" He tried to open it. It refused. "Darn it." The ink popped up suddenly and covered both Isabella and Penelope's mouths. They both tried to scream for Jack

and pull them selves free but the ink spread along their bodies. Jack turned to find them both almost fully covered by the ink. "No! Not again!"

He readied the axe but Penelope was moved in front of him. He hesitated. _'If I swing, I'll hit her!'_ He thought. The ink grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the

puddle. The girls were already sinking in. By the time Jack was pulled over they were gone. "No! Pennie! Isa!" The ink reached his mouth.

He felt some of it go inside and flowed down his esophagus. He tried to spit it out but it kept going, sliding down his throat as he kept sinking into the ink.

Soon, the ink covered his face and the last patch of light left his sight.


	10. Sammy's Sanctuary

Liam and Dewayne waded back across the ink and returned to the room with the pentagram circle, the coffins and the audio log.

They both listened to it again and ran back. "I don't think it'd be back this way." Said Liam. "Nope. But do you really think we can save Ember?" Dewayne asked Liam.

"We have to try." Liam said. They returned to waded across the hallway of ink again. Liam almost reached the end when Dewayne shouted in surprise.

"Ahh!" Liam turned to see Dewayne up to his waist in the ink. "Dewayne!" Liam reached of him. Dewayne grabbed his hand and Liam quickly got onto the wooden floor

of the combining hallway. He held onto the doorway with his free hand and continued to pull Dewayne closer to the edge.

Dewayne was up to his neck when he reached it. But Liam helped him up and they were both out of the ink.

"Come on. We need to find the others before something else happens." said Liam. Dewayne nodded and grabbed a spare wooden board. "At least we've got this."

he said. They hurried back to the Music department. They found the other hallway. "This wasn't here before." Said Liam. Dewayne readied the board and they both

moved forward. They check the two rooms and paused. "Wait a second." Dewayne knelt down and picked up a sheet of paper. He opened it.

"It's Jack's list. They were here." Said Dewayne. "But question is… where did they go?" Liam asked.

They both approached the Bendy Cardboard next to a busted pipe leaking ink. They peeked through a window.

"That must be the music director's office. It has a pump switch inside there." Dewayne pointed out. "But how do we get in?" Liam asked, pointing at the door.

"The ink's blocked the door off." Dewayne readied the wooden board. "Duck, man!" Liam dropped to the floor as Dewayne swung the board against the window.

They heard a snap and the wood split in two. The piece that broke off just barely missed Liam's head. He looked up at the window. "What the heck?!" He exclaimed.

"That didn't even scratch it!" Dewayne dropped the other piece of wood and grabbed his arm. "Ow!" Dewayne fell to one knee.

"I don't think the wood was the only thing that snapped!" Dewayne's face had pain written all over it as he slid down against the wall. Liam quickly sat up.

"Take your jacket off." Dewayne shook his head. "I can't, man. My arm hurts to move." Liam helped him get his jacket off, then he rolled up Dewayne's sleeve.

He felt along his arm. "Good news is, it's not broken. Your arm's just sprained." But you better not move it for a while."

"That's not good man. This place is gonna tear us all up. Jack's right… there's no way we're gonna get out of here."

"Well, that doesn't mean we can't try!" Liam snapped. "We have to get out. There has to be a way!" Liam shouted. He stood up, removed his jacket, groaned,

then punched the wall. "We can't… there's just… no other option. We can't just surrender now." Dewayne looked at him. "Liam. Sometimes, we don't have a choice.

You know that. We can't control everything life throws at us." Liam sat back down. "Your saying that because you don't have a family to go back to… but I do!

I have to get back… for my sister's sake!" Dewayne was surprised by Liam's outburst. Liam sighed and took a deep breath. "Sorry. That was uncalled for."

He was shaking and he used the wall to keep himself upright. "No… Your right… I don't have a family to return to. But you seem to be very desperate to get out…

almost like… someone else's life depended on it." Said Dewayne. "My sister's does…" He fought back the onslaught of tears that threatened to show themselves.

Dewayne looked at him surprised. "What do you mean?" "She's been sick… off and on since she was five. Each illness would get worse. She's eleven years old and she

already has bone cancer." Dewayne was astonished. "Man… talk about rough. And she's just a child." Liam nodded. "I was supposed to see her before she started her

treatment. I have to get back… because-." "Because you fear if your not there to support her, she'll-." "Yeah. She looks up to me… and she is my reason for living.

My family is. I'll either get out of this place or I will certainly die in the process… I don't have the luxury to just give up. Not for her sake especially." Dewayne nodded.

"Alright then. We'll keep trying." Said Dewayne. Liam nodded. He grabbed his jacket and moved over to Dewayne.

He used his jacket to rest Dewayne's arm in it and tied the sleeves behind Dewayne's neck. "That should help." Said Liam.

Then he grabbed Dewayne's jacket and used it to double secure it. "Nice. Thanks for that." Dewayne said. Liam nodded. He stood up and helped Dewayne get up.

"Though, we're at a disadvantage. The board I used just broke." Said Dewayne. Liam looked into the ink blocking the door. "Hey."

He saw something and grabbed hold of it. He wiped some of the ink off it. "It's the axe Jack had." "Well, at least it was left here for us to find." Said Dewayne.

"But the question is… what happened to them?" Liam wondered. Dewayne pointed at a shelf on the wall. "Audio log." He held Liam's hand while Liam reached over to

press the button.

'_So I go to get my dust pan from the hall closet the other day and guess what. I can't find my stupid keys. It's like they disappeared into thin air or something._

_ All I can think of is that they must have fallen into one of the garbage bins as I was making my rounds last week. I just hope nobody tells Sammy. _

_Because if he finds out I lost my keys again, I'm out of here!' _

"There's a label on the side here. Wally Franks." Dewayne passed the list to Liam. Liam checked it. "Yep. He's on there." Liam closed the list and put it in his pocket.

"We have to back track and search the garbage bins." Said Liam. "Maybe we'll have a clue for what's next." Said Liam. Dewayne patted Liam's shoulder.

"You do realize how much time has past since Ember was taken by the ink, right?" Liam did not answer as first. "… Too long." He whispered. Dewayne nodded.

"Yeah. A human can't hold their breath forever and finding that switch was harder than we all thought. I… I hate to say this… but… Ember might be-."

He could even strangle the words out of his mouth. Liam nodded. His grip tightened on the axe. "Yeah… I know." Liam barely whispered as he started to continue

walking. Dewayne followed him. They got out of the hallway and found a trash can. They looked into it and found the keys.

Liam picked them up and set them in his pocket. They continued walking around searching for the closet that "Wally" told them about.

They both found their way back to the room with the instruments and saw the recording booth's light was on now. "Did Jack and the others leave that on?"

Dewayne asked. "I don't know. Everything seems to move on it's own here." Said Liam. He pointed to the garage door beside the recording booth.

"It can't be that." "Nope. That's not a broom closet." Said Dewayne. Liam nodded and they left the room. They returned to the hallway with Sammy's office.

They noticed the open door and found the organ. Dewayne pressed the keys to test it. They heard moaning. Liam and Dewayne looked at each other horrified.

They both turned back to the organ. "Haunted studio?" Dewayne asked. "Definitely." Said Liam. Dewayne pressed the keys again and they heard a voice faintly saying.

"No!" Dewayne and Liam backed from the organ. "Organ keys that possibly torture someone?" Dewayne wondered.

"I'm having some bad flashbacks to Beauty and the Beast Christmas Special." Said Liam. Dewayne thought for a moment. "Oh! The guy who became the organ?"

Dewayne asked. "Yeah. Maybe someone's inside there." Liam slowly approached it. "But how though? A human can't fit inside an organ." Said Dewayne.

"Only one way to find out." Said Liam. They looked around but found nothing. "We'll have to find another way to free him." Said Dewayne.

"Yeah. In the meantime, let's not torment him." Liam and Dewayne left and returned to the Music office area for clues. Dewayne groaned and tapped Liam.

Liam turned to him and Dewayne pointed at the closet. Liam groaned. "Are you freaking kidding me?!" He shouted. He sighed as he pulled out the keys.

"This place. Things disappear and reappear and then you can't even see what right in front of your face the entire time." Said Liam.

He stuck a key in and tried it. It didn't fit. He tried another. "Nothing." He tried the third one and failed. Finally, the fourth one unlocked the door.

He opened it and they both looked in. "More bacon soup." Said Dewayne. "I wish I had a bag so we could take this stuff with us." Said Liam. "Me too."

Dewayne saw an audio log and pressed play.

'_Every artistic person needs a sanctuary. Joey Drew has his, and I have mine. To enter, you need only know my favorite song.__ The drum thunders in triumph. _

_The bass fiddle sings with deep articulation. The bass fiddle returns and sings aloud. The piano delicately calls._

_ Sing my song and my sanctuary will be open to you.'_

Liam saw a name on the side. "Sammy Lawrence." Dewayne whistled. "So my ancestor's relative is not only a genius… but a mad man.

Going by that one recording we heard." "Maybe it wasn't his fault though. After all, Jack said Joey was a man who stole from others.

And my father said he was a good manipulator. So… maybe it wasn't all Sammy's fault he turned out that way. Or maybe he didn't. We still don't know." Said Liam.

"True… but most likely he's dead by now. I mean… this place was first opened ninety years ago." Liam crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.

"There's something unsettling… how'd this place go from an animation studio… to a haunted rundown grave cite with living ink?" Dewayne looked at him.

"The pentagrams? Upside down from it's proper symbol, it's used in witchcraft. The over turned star then takes on the figure of a goat.

The bottom point being the beard, the two points on top are it's horns and the other two below make up it's face." Dewayne explained.

"So the star upside down is a goat. But in this modern age… magic like that isn't that believable anymore." Said Liam.

"Some say science itself is magic of a sort, In the old times if you used two hydrogen and an oxygen to create water they would not know that because they didn't

understand science and how it worked. They would have believed that was magic and you would have been called a wizard or a sorcerer. But to us… today,

what we took to be magic… may be in fact… different from what we originally believed. It depends on your own perspective." Said Dewayne.

"So your saying you believe in magic?" Liam asked. "I do not… not believe in such. There are things that happen which cannot be explained by the normal laws of the

world. I do for a fact, believe that demons do exist. And many of them would like to do harm to us humans. Maybe even drive us to do unthinkable things because

that's what they do. I also think angels are a possibility. Because there are moments in peoples lives where something crazy happens and in a normal situation…

a person might die… but there are times… when someone survives the unthinkable, and that's a miracle. And then you have to take in everything from a fresh

perspective. Just because you can't see things… doesn't mean they aren't there. This world we live in, it still holds mysteries that our ancestors were once aware of…

but we either ignored it or forgot. But that doesn't mean they're gone." Dewayne told Liam. Liam sighed. "Talk about deep." "Sorry. Didn't mean to get all preachy."

"Nah. But your right. This whole situation we've had with this place… it's causing me to question my knowledge on the world around us."

They started walking towards the music room when Dewayne asked him. "When your ancestor created Bendy, what did he have in mind for him?" Dewayne asked.

"He thought he could be a happy demon. But his original design was rejected. Then Joey had him redesign him into a mischievous little tyke who'd get into trouble.

Looking back on those cartoons, I can't really recall a time when Bendy was truly happy." Said Liam. "Then Joey stole the credit for him." Dewayne mentioned.

"Yeah. My ancestor also created Boris the wolf and Alice Angel but then he left the studio before Alice was even introduced to the cartoons.

He just moved to the other side of the country… for an unknown reason. I suspect he was probably tired with being overworked by Joey.

I wouldn't be surprised if it took a toll on his health either. But he needed to be with his family, and the constant work Joey put him under wouldn't let him.

He never returned until thirty years later. And he never came home alive." said Liam. They approached a puddle of ink. When they got close to it, they jumped when a

figure appeared and crawled towards them. "Oh God! Not these things again!" Dewayne shouted and backed up. Liam whacked it with the axe and the creature melted

away. "That was different from what snagged me, Isabella and Jack." Said Liam. "We saw those when we found Pennie unconscious in the park." said Dewayne.

"Let's not wait around for more of them." They both ran until they reached the music room. "So what was Sammy's song?" Liam asked.

"Leave that to me." Said Dewayne. "But we need the projector on." "Got it." Said Liam. He bolted out of the room with the axe, ran into the room with the projector,

turned it on and ran back to the room where Dewayne was already working on the music. He walked over to the drum and repeated what they both heard Sammy

said. _"The drum thunders in triumph."_ He played the beat then moved to the cello. _"The bass fiddle sings with deep articulation."_ He plays the strings.

_"The bass fiddle returns and sings aloud."_ He hit the strings again then went over to the piano. "And last." His free hand hovered over the ivory keys.

_"The piano delicately calls." _He used his left hand and pressed on the keys to play a tune. The garage door opened up. Liam and Dewayne went inside and Liam flipped

the switch. They heard the pipes moan and gears move somewhere above. "What are we gonna do then?" Liam asked. Dewayne looked at him surprised.

"What do you mean?" "When we find Ember's-… you know?" Dewayne looked depressed. "I don't know. I don't know if I can handle it. I've never seen a dea-.

A corp-." He stopped trying to say the word. "I've never seen them outside a casket." "Me either." He sighed. "Nothing left for it now."

They headed back when they saw cardboard Bendy peek at them from the side. They both stopped. The cardboard disappeared around the corner.

"Deja Vu." Said Dewayne. They entered the music room and stopped. "There's a bunch of puddles that weren't here before." Said Dewayne.

Liam moved in front of him. The axe at the ready. "Go back to the pump switch. I don't wanna hit you too." Dewayne nodded and backed up.

Liam slowly took a couple steps when the creatures popped out. Liam stepped back and waited at the doorway.

When one came he used the axe on them. When they stopped coming, Liam peered around the corner. One caught him by surprise and grabbed hold of his arms.

"Ugh! What the-?" Dewayne saw this and ran up to him. He used his fist and hit the creature on the back of the head. It released Liam and Liam brought the axe down

on it's head. "Thanks for that." Liam said. Dewayne nodded. Liam looked behind Dewayne and shouted. "Look out!"

He pulled Dewayne behind him and swung the axe on another one. Dewayne and Liam gasped for breath.

"Well, at least… it's not boring in this place." Said Dewayne. Liam turned and looked up at the projection room above. He stepped back.

"Dewayne? You see him right?" He pointed up. Dewayne looked up. "Is that Bendy?" Dewayne asked. Liam shook his head. "No way. Heck no that ain't him."

"Let's go. Maybe he'll give us some answers." Said Dewayne. He and Liam ran out of the music room and headed towards the projection room.

They reached it and found no one. "What the-?" Dewayne exclaimed. "That might have been the person I saw when we all crossed over the ink in that one hallway."

Said Liam. "Well, nothing else to do but check out Sammy's office now." Said Dewayne. They both left the projection room and went to Sammy's office.

Another creature popped out of the ink and grabbed hold of Liam. "Hey!" He shouted. Dewayne brought his right leg up and kicked the creature in the head.

Liam wrenched himself free and used the axe to finish him. "Good reflexes." Liam praised him. "Thanks. I knew all my training would come in handy…

but I never thought I'd use it for these creatures." Said Dewayne. Liam opened the door and they went inside. They saw the pump control.

To their right they saw writing on the wall. "It's time to believe." "My question is what are we suppose to believe here?" Dewayne asked.

"That's just one of many questions I have." Said Liam. Dewayne went over to the desk. "Hey look. I found some blueprints."

Dewayne pointed with his good arm. Liam walked over. "It looks like the ink machine." Liam handed the axe to Dewayne then he grabbed the blueprint and rolled it up.

"What are we doing with this?" Dewayne watched him. "Out of the many strange things we've seen here, one thing is certain.

That machine had something to do with all of the creatures we've seen. If we find Isabella again, maybe she can understand what the machine really is and what it's

supposed to do." Liam said as he stuck the blueprint in his belt. "Think about it. We didn't see all of this crazy stuff until after… that machine was turned on."

Liam pointed out. Dewayne nodded. "And Bendy grabbed Isabella after the machine had turned on too. But the big question is… who turned it on then?

Was it Bendy? All we did was gather the items and then they were taken from us and the machine activated."

Liam shook his head. "I don't know. But I'm willing to find out." Dewayne nodded. They went to the switch and Dewayne grabbed it the pulled it down.

They heard a click. "Time to check on the stairs." A melancholy tone was laced in Liam's voice, accompanied by concern.

They both returned to the stairs and jumped when another creature charged at them. Liam did not swing this time as he worried it might still be Ember.

But it knocked them down and left the stairs. They both looked in the direction it went then looked down at the stairs. There was something in the ink puddle.

Liam knelt down and grabbed it. He shook it to get some of the ink off. "It's Ember's phone."

Dewayne looked at the spot where the ink had been. "There's no body." He looked at Liam. "Do you think it went down the drain?" Dewayne asked.

"It's possible… who knows. Maybe she got out. Maybe the others freed her." Liam suggested even though he knew he was just being optimistic.

Though he did not really believe himself in what he just said. They descended the stairs and opened the exit door.

They stopped and heard something from the way they had come. "What was that?" Dewayne questioned. Liam readied the axe.

"Wait here. I'll check it out really quick." Liam told him. He walked up and checked around the area. He turned back to call to Dewayne.

"I don't see anyone." Liam looked around and noticed the hallway blocked off with barrels, he tried to look over them. "Is anyone there?" No answer.

Liam sighed and headed back to the stairs. He felt something hit him on the head. Stunned, he fell to the ground. As blackness faded in his sight he heard a voice.

"Rest your head." He looked up to see a blurry figure wearing a Bendy mask. "It's time for bed." Darkness claimed him and as he lost consciousness,

his mind was screaming words that his mouth could not. "Dewayne… run."


	11. Hopes Begin to Sink

The thick white fog thickened around Liam as he wandered through the mist. His legs felt felt like he was wading through water, yet there was none.

He reached the end of the fog and found a house. It was familiar to him. He stepped closer. He realized he was outside of his home. He remembered the feel of the

wind blowing as the trees swayed in rhythm. The tall pines waving up at the full moon in the sky. The crickets chirping their midnight lullaby, the waves rippling along

the pond in the backyard. The frogs croaking as they jumped into the water. The sound of the coyotes howling into the night. Liam remembered it all.

He saw a little boy and a younger girl sneaking out of the house through the front door. The little girl was carrying a Bendy Plushie. Liam knew that plushie all too well.

It had been given to him by his mother when he was just five years old. The two children accompanied by the plushie ran into the backyard.

There they quietly laid in the grass underneath the starry sky. In the distance, Liam noticed the scenery changed. The colors in the night slowly faded to black and

white. The grass turned black as did the velvet blue of the night sky. The house itself seemed to melt down into a strange black substance.

Every other sound slowly faded away. All he could hear was the sound of ink dripping as the house slowly turned into a huge puddle of ink.

Liam tried to yell at the two children but his voice was silent. No sound ever escaped his mouth. He could only watch frozen in place as the boy grabbed the girl and

held her close to him while she clutched the Bendy plushie in fear. The wind blowing their raven black hair wildly in the current. The full moon changed phases and

formed into a large crescent moon, which seemed to be smiling down at them. The moon turned into the horrifying ink demon with his Cheshire cat like grin giving the

only light shining down on them. The house of ink seemed to reach for the two children. The girl was pulled away from the boy, while the ink grabbed hold of the boy.

Soon they faded into the blackness of the ink while the moon faced Bendy seemed to cackle silently at the horrific sight.

White fog clouded his mind again and then faded away. Liam's eyes opened and blinked slowly as his eyes adjust.

His head ached as he heard a voice speaking to him and a blurry figure moved in his line of sight. "There we go now. Nice and tight. We wouldn't want our little sheep

roaming away now, would we? No. We wouldn't." Liam groaned as hie eyes were coming back into focus.

He saw the mask first and his mind was still groggy. "B-bendy?" Liam asked in a daze. The figure back up out of his sight.

"You speak his name? A child like you? What a strange thing." Liam's eyes finally stopped blurring out and he could see what it was in front of him.

Surprised, he yelped and backed into something hard. He looked to see he was in front of the wall. He tried to move his arms but they were stuck.

Liam saw he was tied up with a rope. He struggled to free his wrists. "The heck-? Where am I?" He asked. "Quiet, now my little sheep. If you speak too loudly,

he will come before the ceremony is complete." Liam's memories flooded back to him. He quickly looked around the room for Dewayne but did not see him.

'He's not here?' He thought. "Wait a minute." He heard the creature say and move up to his face. "You look familiar… though I've never seen your face before.

But you remind me of someone." Liam raised a brow then looked the man up and down. Behind the mask, he could see was a figure made of ink but unlike the other

creatures, he wore a pair of overalls. Liam looked at him. "That voice… Your… Sammy? Sammy Lawrence?" He asked.

"You know who I am?" The creature replied. Liam nodded. "You wrote the Bendy cartoon songs. You used to work for Joey Drew Studios. But… I thought you'd be

dead." The creature stood up. "No. No, no. Not dead. Enlightened." "What happened to you exactly? Your now ink?" Liam asked.

"Yes. Trapped into this accursed body. This… abomination. But how do you know so much about me… while I barely remember much about myself?"

Liam shifted uncomfortably as Sammy seemed to stare down in Liam's soul. "I… I don't know as much as you might think… but I know someone who's related to you…

But you wouldn't know him… I mean, after all. A lot changes after ninety years." Sammy seemed to be deep in thought. "Is that how long it's been? Really? Ninety

years? Since I've been stuck in this hellhole?" Sammy knelt down almost into Liam's face. "But what do you mean by… related?" Liam swallowed some spit before

answering. "Related… as in family. He could tell you more than I can… but you both share a love for music… that I can definitely tell you."

Sammy seemed to ponder this. "Hmm, interesting. Well, thank you, my little sheep. Our time is short but it was lively.

Though, I must admit, that I am honored that you came all the way down here to visit me." Liam grimaced. "Didn't exactly have much of a choice."

"Still, it almost makes what I'm about to do seem cruel." Liam looked at him dazed. "Wha-what?" He asked. "What? What exactly are you going to do?" Liam asked

him. "And why the heck am I tied up?" "I can't have you slip away before the ceremony." "Ceremony?" Liam questioned. He thought back through all he had seen,

his face went pale. "No… the pentagrams… the coffins… those were you… weren't they? You killed all those pe-. How could you?" He asked terrified.

"The believers must honor their savior. I must have him notice me." Liam continued struggling. "Sammy, don't do this… I don't know who your savior is… but he's

messed up if he's calling for human sacrifices." "Don't you dare say such things!" Sammy roared at him. "You dare to say that and say you don't know who our savior

is? You called out his name when you first awoke." Liam thought back to what he did say. When he remembered he looked at Sammy shocked.

"B-. Bendy? He's the one telling you to sacrifice humans to him?" "More like it's a volunteer gig." Liam shock his head.

"This isn't what I knew… The Bendy I knew wouldn't call for such." "Then did you ever truly know him?" Sammy asked.

Liam hesitated. Of course he was not sure. The Bendy he knew was just a cartoon… a plushie companion who had been the only friend he had for a long time.

A character created by his ancestor. He fell silent and drooped his head down so his bangs would hid his face from Sammy. Sammy leaned towards him.

"Why so silent? Are you not sure of what you know anymore?" Liam gritted his teeth. "Go ahead… sacrifice me if that's what you really want… but my blood will be on

your head… and I will return to haunt you for eternity… not just for my sake alone… but for those who have fallen dead at your hands before and those that will come

after me." Liam muttered in a gruff tone. Sammy backed up. "This little sheep has a fire. If this doesn't get his attention, I don't know what will."

Liam glared at the pentagram on the floor around him. "How do you do it, Sammy?" He whispered. Sammy paused to look at him.

Liam glared at him as he shouted at him. "What happened to your pride as a human?" Sammy did not have time to answer as someone else did.

"It died, like the rest of him." Sammy whirled around only to get kicked in the face. He was kicked again then his assailant kneed him in the gut.

Sammy belt over, gasping for air. The attacker brought his elbow down into Sammy's back. Liam was surprised and thrilled to see a familiar face.

"Dewayne!" Dewayne grabbed Sammy's arm with his one good arm, threw him over his back and Sammy hit the wall.

Dewayne picked up the axe and gripped it in his left hand. "Liam. Don't move." He swung it down to hit the ropes. The ropes fell and Liam stood up.

"Thanks a lot, man." "Hey, you kept us all from panicking. It's time someone helped you out for a change." Liam saw Sammy getting up. "Dewayne, look out!"

He shouted. Sammy ran at them, they both side stepped out of the way and he passed them. He barely stopped before the pentagram.

Dewayne looked at Liam. "Liam!" He tossed the axe to Liam and he caught it by the wood. Sammy turned to face them but Dewayne kicked him in the stomach and

punched him in the mask. Sammy fell to the ground. "This… is what became of my relative?" Dewayne looked at Liam. Liam nodded solemnly.

They heard something above them moving around. Sammy looked up. "He's coming." He whispered. "Run!" Dewayne said as he and Liam went for a door.

Sammy jumped up and chased after them, shouting. "NO! I must have him notice me! All believers must pay homage to their savior!"

"Your savior! Not ours!" Dewayne retorted as they kept running. They did not seem to escape Sammy as they ran around the labyrinth of hallways.

Sammy was becoming desperate that he took a different route to cut them off. Dewayne and Liam turned a corner and stopped when they found Sammy.

He threw something at them that they could not really tell what it was. Liam shoved Dewayne out of the way and the object hit him. Dewayne ran at Sammy and

tackled him. He pinned Sammy to the ground with his body and just pounded away at him with his fist. Sammy managed to grab hold of it once, but Dewayne kneed

him in his ribs then Dewayne slapped him as hard as he could. This stunned Sammy long enough for Dewayne to grab his neck and push his head hard against the

floor. Sammy went limp and Dewayne got off. He turned toward Liam who was still lying on the ground. He hurried over only to shout in surprise. "Liam!"

Liam was bleeding out with a knife in his lower chest. He was coughing hard and tried to turn his body over. Dewayne helped him and Liam coughed.

Dewayne saw black ink spreading through the walls and the floor underneath them. Liam began to vomit blood and some of it ended up touching the ink.

Dewayne grabbed Liam's arm and put it around his shoulder. He hauled him up to his feet, with Liam's cooperation and Dewayne and he hurried along the hallway.

_'We can't outrun whatever is coming at us. I need a place for us to hide. But… where?'_ He wondered. He and Liam just managed to the reach the end of the hall when

Dewayne heard something. He quickly looked over his shoulder to see something turn the corner from the other side of the hallway. It was the Bendy creature they

had first seen when the ink machine had turned on. It saw Dewayne and Liam from the distance and moved towards them.

Liam saw it and before he could stop himself he coughed and puked up more blood which splattered on the walls where the ink had not touched. Dewayne carried him

past the corner as he saw Bendy break into a run. Dewayne picked up the pace and Liam tried to match it as best as he could, though it hurt to do so.

Liam pulled out the knife to make it easier for him to walk. But his grip was weak and it slipped out of his hands._ 'Come on! We need a miracle to get us out of this _

_one.'_ Dewayne saw a box that resembled an old out house. There was a sign above it that said "Little miracle Station." _'… Please help us hide!'_ he thought.

He quickened the pace and got them over there. He opened the door and moved Liam into the station. He heard a snarl and quickly looked behind.

Bendy was closing in when Liam grabbed Dewayne and yanked him in. Dewayne quickly slammed the door shut and Bendy stopped in front of the door.

Dewayne gripped the door tightly and locked it. Bendy's smile was shaking vigorously as he snarled at the door, facing the small opening that Dewayne was looking at

him through. Liam coughed again and Dewayne turned to him. "Liam? How bad is it?" Liam did not answer right away. "Pretty… pretty bad… I lost a lot…"

"Of blood, I know." Dewayne finished for him. "Don't talk now, okay?" He managed to slip one of the jackets off and held it over the wound. "Just keep pressure on it."

He held down with his good hand while Liam took in heavy breaths. "I… I'm gonna die… aren't I?" Liam asked. Dewayne noticed Bendy was quiet and looked to see if

he was still there. Dewayne did not see him at first but when Bendy's face popped back up Dewayne looked at Liam.

"Um… you want me to lie or give you the harsh truth?" Liam groaned. "It hurts like hell." Liam coughed. "Who knew… Sammy had… good aim."

Dewayne looked up to see Bendy still staring in at them. Dewayne turned back to Liam. "I wish you hadn't taken that for me." Liam groaned.

"Let's face it, if any of us has the best chance of survival… It'd be you, man… you can fight with just your fists… Me?… My best talent was dancing… Now I don't think

I'll get to do anymore of that." Dewayne bit his lip as he tried not to cry. "And you have a really good singing voice… I'm gonna miss hearing that."

Liam sighed and coughed. "I was looking forward… to helping you with that… Halloween special… You really know how to make… some sick beats." said Liam.

Dewayne nodded, at a loss for words. "I wish there was more I could do for you… I'd stitch ya up if I had the materials…" "You couldn't… you right arm is sprained."

Said Liam. "At least… I wasn't alone… in my final moments… thanks… for coming to get me." His voice barely above a whisper. Dewayne saw him shut his eyes and he

went limp. Dewayne shook him. "Liam?" No answer. "Liam!" Nothing. He didn't move. Dewayne leaned over to him and cried. "No. No… Liam…"

He held his hand in front of Liam's face. He felt his breath. He realized there that Liam just passed out but if he didn't get treatment soon, he would die.

Dewayne lifted his head up and prayed aloud. "Someone please, help us. If he's not cared for then he'll…" He stopped and mentally slapped himself.

He shuddered. "Who would even help us? We're trapped inside an abandoned studio mass grave with monsters roaming around trying to kill us… and we don't even

know why we're here to begin with." Dewayne heard footsteps. He looked to see the demon leaving. Dewayne waited for a bit. Then he opened the door.

He looked back at Liam. "I'll be right back bud. Hold on until then, Okay? When it's safe… I'll come back for you." He whispered. He grabbed the axe and walked back

to the room where Sammy held Liam prisoner. He saw a garage door was opened and he went down it. He used the axe to chop some boards out of his way and

stopped when he came across a patch of ink. A creature popped up and he axed it. He reached another section of ink covering the entire rest of the hallway but he did

not dare venture forth. _'The ink demon could be down that way. I don't want to attract anymore attention. I need to find something to help me move Liam. But first I_

_ need somewhere safe to move him to.'_ He thought as he took a left down a hallway past some barrels and then a right.

He walked through a door which closed itself. He saw a plank fall in place locking the door. He tried to lift it up to open but it was no use.

"No!" He pounded at the door. "I have to get back. I have to get him." He whispered. He grabbed the axe he dropped and continued to move forward.

He pasted a shelf stocked up with Bendy plushies. Dewayne shuddered. "Creepy little things." He pasted some machines as well. He stopped when he heard something

and saw a can of bacon soup rolling on the ground from a corner. "Who's there?" Dewayne demanded. "If your a foe, know I don't fear you and I've had enough

dancing around with devils and death today. But if your a friend that means me no harm, I welcome you and kindly ask for your assistance." Nothing happened.

"Please answer me… or give me some kind of sign. My friend… he's out there in a miracle station… and he's dying. I need somebody to help me… to help him before he

bleeds to death… please…" His voice cracked. "I don't know what to do." There was silence for a bit then he heard footsteps again. Then he saw a figure come out.

It was the cartoon wolf they had seen a lot on the posters and the dead Boris they first encountered upstairs. _'Him? What was it Liam and the others called him?'_

He thought for a moment. "Boris?" He asked. The wolf looked him up and down. "Are you here to help me?" Dewayne asked. The wolf picked up his bacon soup and

held it to him. Dewayne put down the axe and slowly approached him. He held out his hand and the wolf set the bacon soup into his palm.

Dewayne looked at the wolf again. "I thought you were dead… we saw you upstairs. You were…" He shook his head. "Anyway. Is there a way to go back towards

Sammy's area?" Boris seemed shocked. "Please. My friend is there. I couldn't carry him." He gestured to his other arm in the jacket made sling.

"Please. I can't just leave him there." Boris gestured him to follow. Dewayne did.


End file.
